I am watching this episode right now and am not surprised you are doing a show about Direct Buy. A few years ago, my husband and I were invited to a presentation to see the great deals we would receive by coming to the showroom. we had no idea there would be a extremely expensive membership. we had to watch a presentation and I felt very uncomfortable. after this video we were taken out to a table and whammed with the contract and when we found out the cost we said we couldn't afford it. then they started in on a finance plan and were really pressured to sign and we had a hard time to end the conversation politely. when we asked to think about it, we were told that once we walk out the doors we would never be invited back. so we said fine and left.

Why doesnt the government do something to protect consumers? How is this legal? So many retailers are looking to take your money without any sense of customer service nowadays, more and more the consumer is getting taken advantage of and noone in our government seems to do anything to protect us.

Do I understand this right
Year 1 = $5,000
Year 2 & 3 No charge
Year 4 = $250
Year 5, & 6 No charge
Year 7 = $250 etc.
Does the contract commit to future renewal prices or can they change the renewal to $3000 after I sign?

If someone can clarify this for a member joining today in Ontario, and what if I join in Ont and then move to New Brunswick, can I shop there??
Thanks from Deb in Stittsville (near Ottawa)

Also, I was taken in by this "sign now or never",
We canadians should have better law to protect the consumers. Yes I was in, and got nothing in return.
What about the responsability of the gov in regards to new company implenting here in Canada, without proper inspection of the contracts offered to us Canadians.???

Obviously, this is a company from us, and nothing protects
us??Seriously, something is wrong. Where is the law.
Also, if you finance, this is a us company who harrashes you
to get their money.

As a cie owner, I am telling you If I do something wrong I will be nailed by this government, even if I am canadian.

Where is the justice????

I too attended an information session after seeing Direct Buy's ads on the Internet. I sat through the session, wandered around to see what was offered, but walked out when told I would not get a second chance if I did not sign up then and there. I have worked with legal agreements and know that if pressured for an answer now [without the benefit of doing due diligence], the answer is 'no'. They were somewhat surprised.

We received an invitation to the DB in Kelowna when we moved here about 6 years ago. We went and received the same high pressure sales tactics expressed in your T.V. program. We ended up signing the contract. After going home and thinking about it we decided it was not a good idea for us. We called the DB office the next day. We fully expected to be told there was no way we could get out of it, but much to our surprise the owner/manager cancelled the contract immediately. Apparently not all branches are operated the same.

I have been a DirectBuy member for 10 years now. My wife and I first joined the London, Ontario club when we were purchasing our first home. We pretty much furnished our entire home at savings of over $10,000. We are now building a new home and have purchased many of the fixtures and extras at considerable savings (approximately $20,000) thus far. We feel that you're story was your typical slanted media coverage based on the opinions of the minority. If you polled all DirectBuy members, I am sure you would find the vast majority happy with their membership. Unfortunately you base your entire story on complaints from the uninformed minority that would most likely complain about just about anything. So why don't you do a story about the members, like myself, that are extrememly happy with their membership and the substantial savings we've realized.

I received a phone call from the Direct Buy asking if I was interested in coming to browse the store and see their concept. I was willing to listen to the pitch. In order to be allowed in the store, I had to answer a number of phone questions. Most questions were straightforward, until they asked what our family income was. I found that question very intrusive and would not answer. The caller told me that if I did not answer that question, I could not join their exclusive club. The conversation ended very quickly after that.

I wrote to the Direct Buy Head Office to express my displeasure. A marketing representative wrote back with some pointless questions which I answered, and then I never heard from them again.

I hope that means they put me on the "don't call this person back" list.

Very good reporting, as usual, just like any other scam this one has it's supporters and we can clearly see that in the comments below the story. UNlike the US reporting cbc and ctv continue to provide unboiased stoiers even if the company they are investigationg is a advertiser, bravo!!

I very much enjoy cbc shows , I only wish it was a no ad medium like pbs is in the usa. Given a choice I'll take cbc over any usa tv station any day, at least as far as these types of shows are concerned. been hooked since I first saw beachcombers and friendly giant and venture, what ever happened to venture? I see that new program replacing it fortune hunters but I liked vetnure better, btw dragons den is my absolute fav cbc show marketplace is second, I also LOVE the old movies liek the one with maryln monroe "how to marry a millionaire?"

Wow, I just spoke to someone at Directbuy. It was the most evasive conversation I have ever heard. The representative kept pressuring me to attend the information session with my husband. I told her that he has never been involved in household renovations, purchases etc. The representative then asked me to tell her my income. I asked her if she wanted to know my personal income or my household income. When I told her my personal income was zero, she said 'I don't think this is the store for you.' One only needs to spend a day trolling through design districts such as Castlefield and Yorkville to discover that income and spending power are not always related. Perhaps she was correct. This isn't the store for me.

DON'T DO IT!! I too was never offered a 3 day grace period. I too was given a hard pitch sale - and I too have never fallen for such a scam in the past.
At the risk of sounding like I'm making excuses, my girlfriend and I had gone after work, tired and extremely hungry and immediately looked at each other as we entered. During the group presentation we whispered to each other that it was a scam - the prices that they were quoting us had already been seen cheaper in the retail market.
Somehow, and with great regret, we walked out after signing over almost $5,000.00! We actually sat in the car and wondered why we did what we did, but left it at that.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
It's been about 2 years and our savings have amounted to about $280.00 - far from recouping the inital 5 grand invested. We were had!

My experience with DB was fantastic - bought a new home and needed appliances, was able to get upgraded stainless steel for much less than what the builder was offering. This was the same for central air and vac, wish I had opted out of those and gone through DB. Yes, the membership fees are high but over time it does pay for itself.

After reading the commets I'm still left confused as to why DB states in TV advertiesment that the AVERAGE people can save money!! But most of the so called happy people of DB had to spend anywhere 20000 and up. Well let me tell you i'm and average person and i do not have 20000 to spend on kitchen cabenits, so to me DB is already telling a lie.I guess if your not a average income person then DB might help you but for the rest of us it's a load of CRAP!!!

Your reporting of Direct Buy is misleading and likely by design. It does not tell anything about Direct Buy and why people choose to be members. One has to question the reasons why those individuals felt pressured. Unless you are making an important investment in renovations or refurnishing your house/appartment, it will take time to recoup your membership. We had major renovations to do and recovered that membership after our first buy.
Get your story straight otherwise it's just another case of yellow journalism and idiotic commentaries.

My fiance and I also got stuck with this membership, we were definately pressured, once the rep found out that we just bought a house and were getting married he said that this would be the perfect opportunity for us. Man was he wrong, we have had to wait so long for our deliveries it's just rediculous, and there is no return policies on a lot of their products. Ya there me be some great deals but is it really worth your time and your efforst, sometimes not so much. I wish I had done my research prior to the "open house".

I do not think anyone should pay a fee to joint any club to get savings!! its a rip off. Costco, Sam's, Direct Buy, etc.... I attended the direct buy promo 2000, and was told "i would never see them advertise on TV"... now we see then every day on TV, that is where the membership fee goes, Wake up and smell the coffe these companies are out to make money for themselves not make you save money, like every other business on earth!

I find it ironic that, in spite of Marketplace blasting DirectBuy for its sale practices, CBC Newsworld still carries that firms advertisements. I suppose that honour dies where interest lies.

I purchased a membership from DirectBuy about two half years ago. I fell into the high pressure sales trap. After my purchase of the membership, about a month later, I wanted out. I could not bring anyone into the showroom room with me, being in a wheelchair I needed a little help, not to mention it would be nice to sound off ideas to someone. The answer to my request of cancelling my membership was NO! At this point I was annoyed, but by gosh I was going to get my money’s worth. I bought new furniture for every room in my house. After furnishing 4 rooms, I spent $8500. I figure I saved about $8000 including all the extra charges like to freight, handling, duty, etc. So really at this point I saved myself about $3000. The furniture I purchased was a higher quality than what I could afford. Some of my old furniture was 20 years old, my desk was a banquet table, and that banquet

I researched this scam a few years ago.
Couldn't believe the cost of membership and the lack of service. All the salesmen's effort is concentrated on the membership drive.

Any time the method of sale, or memberships are pushed more than the product it's a sure sign that something is rotten in Denmark.

As for the CBC being biased... I don't think they needed to add a D B commercial to the segment "I up graded to my wealthy naibors brands..."

I find it quit amusing to watch market place. I find that when you do your reporting that you only report on the most negative asspects of the story. Has anyone spoken to the HAPPY AND CONTENT members? and don't you know the law The Canadian government has made provisions for ALL consumers There Is NO such Thing as a "NO REFUNDS"
When you the consumer purchase an item, you have, I belive you have a full 72hours to return an item, any item. That includes memberships! It's funny how that you take less than 0.00000001% of the entire presentation. You look at the price of an item and say that you can find it for less on sale online. They tell you in the presentation about loss leader items the thing about Direct Buy is you don't have to wait for a sale!!!

Two years ago we received a card in the mail inviting us to go to a presentation to view the showroom of Direct Buy. The card said you would receive one of several gifts for attending the showroom. The most given out gift was a luggage piece 20". I actually was planning on buying one for an up coming trip. We were surprised to see the store was located in an industrial park and there was little to no showroom at all. We were met immediately and taken to a room with a tiny bar type table and 3 bar stools. The guy who came introduced himself and then set into a bunch of questions and filling in a form. I understood there would be a presentation and thought this was it.At the time we were in a 17 year old house and planning on moving. Once this was understood we were told we were not candidates and shown the door. I asked for the suitcase and was told we didn't qualify. Guess we were lucky!

I am a former DB salesperson. In my estimate ultimately 25% of members recoup their investment. These are people who have massive consumer needs relating to building, buying, renovating etc.


As for the others, most found catalog shopping risky, the return policy a sham, information hard to get, and the delivery times unreliable and returned to retail. Also on many product lines, most notably electronics, prices are often better in the retail stores, and the staff more knowledgeable. This is not to condemn all staff - many are good people trying to do good work. It is the DB system.


The "buy now or never" ploy is 100% marketing. Manufacturers pulled out due to low sales, scripts are filled with semi-subliminal wording, prices cannot be compared, and weighing pros and cons, in the big picture, not a wise move for most consumers.I
Its a fast way to part with $5000 and be unhappy.

Once again a great expose by the CBC Marketplace staff.


Sadly it appears that the rest of the Corp doesnt agree with the Marketplace staff..... I continue to not only see advertisments for Direct Buy on air, but perhaps even worse on the website to which I came to read up on the Direct Buy story. Right beside the link for the story ......... "DIRECT BUY" is featured in an ad.


Thats hard to accept!!!!!!!

Hi,

I just saw your show and I would like to clarify that if you were to check for big ticket items, such as furniture, kitchen renovation, you will find substantial savings.


When my wife and I went to the direct buy open house, we went with our shopping list and knew right away how much we were going to save.


For example, our dinning room set would have costed us $10,000 at the furniture store. But we got it from direct buy for $4000, shipping and handling fees included.


We got our hardwood floor for at least $2000 less than the floor shop.

Shopping at Direct Buy is the most frustrating experience my husband and I have ever encountered. We were told to go and look in the retail stores to see what we wanted to purchase and then bring the make and model # to Direct Buy. The challange came from finding the correct catalogue. While we did save on our windows and oven/stovetop, the rest of our purchases could have been bought at the retail store for the same price. We figure with what we saved on the windows and stove, we broke even by paying the membership fee. Our 3 years membership is over soon and we will not be renewing. We did find the staff very helpful and sympathetic to any problems we encountered. Over all we would advise to run away.

I Joined this year and I am glad really, we are redoing our house and we saved the membership cost on the carpet alone. Its true its a little hard to get used to ordering from there but after you get the hang of it you can really save thousands. I know I have.

We were duped into joining DB in 2005. It was high pressure tactics all the way and we were not informed of the type of member who could actually realize savings. If DB would confess during their pitch that the membership is geared towards people who are planning major renos and such and that membership is not a tool for someone looking to save on everyday typical retail purchases, then I probably would have declined. We were let to believe that "everything" was cheaper thru DB. Service experienced after sales was miserable. Shopping using a catalogue was an exercise in mystery and frustration. Delivery took forever. Warehouse staff were untrained and difficult to deal with. Returning an item after discovering defects at warehouse prooved an ordeal. 'Nuff said. Marketplace, you have it right on. Rename this company Direct Loss and that about sums up my experience.

To All Who Previously Posted Comments here....


Thank You SO MUCH for the insiteful information!.....


I'm just looking to save on a couple of items right now and am in no position whatsoever to give anyone $5,000.00!!!!


I understand there are some who have saved money w/ major renovations, while others have not .. and really had problems with them, to boot! I just set up an appt for this coming Wednesday and now feel confident in: 1)cancelling it (don't need to waste my time w/ high-pressure sales tactics) 2)Just buying from localized specialized retailer (I'm good at comparison shopping, so I'm confident I'll get the best deal this way...

Thank you for your show I was about to try and join

We purchased a $3,000 membership almost 3 years ago after a high pressure sales tactic... which they stated "if you don't sign up now you can't come back". My gut said walk away but we caved. We justified it by thinking we would save thousands when we renovated our kitchen later that year. Guess what? We postponed renovations because we didn't have the money. Duh! I thought I was smarter than that. We haven't purchased anything yet. Priced carpeting (industrial quality) which WAS far cheaper than carpet stores. Still haven't bought due to present financial circumstances but we hope to finally renovate our kitchen later this year. I believe there are huge savings through Directbuy on major renovations and large home furnishing purchases..... deals on smaller stuff can be found local. We won't know the truth until we do our renovations this year. Should have waited! Learned a costly mistak

We joined Direct Buy in 2001 when it was UCC Total Home. We purchased our fridge, stove, microvent, dishwasher, 2 gas fireplaces, washer & dryer as well as three couches, 2 loveseats, chair, 7 pc. kitchen table set, 5 pc. bistro set and laminate flooring for 3800 square feet. Even after the freight charge, handling charge, U.S. exchange etc. we still saved, sometimes as much as half the cost. For big ticket items it is worth it. Mind you our membership fee to join was not $5,000.00 but $2,343.00 Cdn. It worked for us, but it is not for everyone.

My wife and I were invited to attend their sales presentation. It was a very high pressure sales presentation during which the sales girl go really mad when we said NO to their membership. They would not let us see their 'secret' book. So we asked them if they would buy a house without first checking it out? I know some people have argued that people may take the 'secret' prices to other retailers and try and get a better price, but that is the risk they take in this business...I just don't buy this argument. I think this business is a scam in my eyes, 2500 + an annual fee. IMHO If some people just get of their arse and shop around you can get some awesome deals out there. This company exists because people don't want to do work and have the 'want it now' attitude.

I sell product to Direct By and numerous other contractors and retailers.

All Direct Buy is doing is using the membership fee to make their margins. They then base their projections of cost savings on outdated and seldom used MSRP margins, which are much to high.

It is impossible to "save" money using Direct Buy. They get their supplies from exactly the same sources (like myself) as every other retailer.

Because Direct Buy is a set fee, they really make their margins on not negotiating. They simply sell you the concept that their price is always lowest. It is not. Get a real contractor in to price out cabinets, for example, and then negotiate. You'll have more control, less up front costs, better selection, recourse in the event of contract failure, and definitely lower prices.

It is interesting to see such passion on two sides of the issue and realistically no middle ground. In my experience, this usually means there is truth to both sides. It seems clear that this might work for people making large purchases in a relatively short time period where large is something over $10 or $20k.
What is even more interesting is the number of references to 'inside understanding' and 'members understand' when referencing some of the policies around price disclosure. This sounds a lot like drinking the kool aid...and we all know how that ended.

We were planning a home build when we signed up - and true the savings on our kitchen cupboards alone covered the cost of our membership. HOWEVER, it is unforgiveable for anyone to take thousands of dollars for a membership and then to treat their members this way. There is some money to be saved on certain items offered - if you are a good shopper you can usually get the same deal or very close - with much less grief. The market prices are inflated and the savings are exagerated on most of the items offered. The items on which you really do save (and there are some)are so few that it is not worth the grief of trying to order. I have had friends ask what I thing and I DISCOURAGE ANYONE FROM EVEN THINKING ABOUT BECOMING A MEMEBER. Overall, Direct Buy is a SCAM of unbelieveable proporotions. I am glad to see that this is starting to come to light in Canada.

We joined yesterday in Ottawa . I then searched for info on the internet and saw this piece. We're finishing our basement and re-doing our walkway. Maybe new garage doors too. Plus in a few years, new carpet/flooring. We'll see how much we save and if we can get our initial fee back in savings. I'll post back with my outcome.

Calgary Direct Buy has very poor warehouse staff ,you can ring the back bell forever and if they come to the door you get no greeting. Manager at Calgary is not very good, takes a long time to look into delayed order and everthing is delayed ,some as long as 6 months . IT IS A VERY FRUSTRATING PLACE -THEY DONT,T CARE THEY HAVE YOUR MONEY

As I was watching this program, I could not remember if I had ever seen the ads for DirectBuy in any of CBC channels. I was surprised to see that CBC is broadcasting these adds. I sure did appreciate the information provided in the program, but what should I think of CBC turning around and broadcasting the same adds? I think it is disrespectful to the great work of all those who work so hard to get to the bottom of the truth for us, as is the mandate of public broadcasters.

My 2 cents:
If you want deals on ANYTHING, know your prices. There is no need to spend a pile of cash on a membership, for a company like this. You may save a small amount in the long run, based solely on the amount you have spent for your membership, but that's all. You can negotiate HUGE savings, far more than sale prices if you walk into the store EDUCATED. Most Canadian based companies will negotiate a variety of different options for you, including better finance rates, lower prices, or much lower prices for paying cash. I almost NEVER pay the asking price for anything over $250.oo. I check on the internet for prices, check the variety of products that match the criteria, find out what is made in Canada and then go to the store to purchase. I also watch for close outs and special sales where manufacturers have over runs. Save money by learning about the prices & products.

Really wanted to watch this video on Direct Buy. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to want to run more than a couple of minutes.

There seems to be a misconception with a vast majority of the comments on this blog. The comments below from people who saved thousands of dollars or the "membership is not for everyone". I am not even a member myself, but my finance's parents have been for 10+years. They have saved at least $10K for everything they bought over these years. Original membership fee $2000.00. Say they spent $400.00 for their own deliveries or literally picked up there own items....that is still over $7K in savings. The two main problems. #1- Budget: you need to maximize the amount you spend or the membership is not worth it! Large renovations or on-going purchases for say 5-10 years will cover all your membership fees. #2- Every Direct Buy is a franchise- everyone has a different exprience at a different location. Some sales rep/owners are intrusive, lets face it! It happens everywhere.

Marketplace done a FANTASTIC job in exposing DirectBuy's sales tactic. I am glad I did not join. Most of the good and bad comments I noticed depends on DirectBuy's following: location of outlet, salesperson, contact with manufacturer, and after sales service. Marketplace could go indepth to find out which outlet to avoid, and which salesperson to avoid.

It's funny how even a direct buy employee came here to defend the company saying how they've never heard the sales staff speak to customers like that. Why would you? Are you hovering over their shoulders? Despite the many many complaints here you say that there is no issue? Wake up.

People have been ruthlessly RIPPED OFF
DB members are BRAINWASHED BULLIES
They insult innocent members who have been deceived,
by calling them "uneducated" and "stupid"
You are bullies,too because you conveniently forgot how to tell people how to get their money back.
Check out my letters and other truthful info at
"directbuycomplaintwire" you'll find "DIRECT BUY COMPLAINT,
DON'T MAKE OUR MISTAKE"
I GUESS MARKETPLACE NEVER HEARD OF
THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT (covers ontario)
they break almost every part of Part III Unfair Practice
THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BRANCH in Toronto can help you
416-326-8800 M to F 8:30 to 5 p.m.

People have been ruthlessly RIPPED OFF

Direct Buy is a multi-level marketing SCAM!
5000.00 to join and you save thousands? Not going to happen.

Direct Buy is very good at misguiding people. It is the shell game in reverse.

Ask yourself a simple question. Would you rather get a discount of 30-50% off of MSRP? Or would you rather pay Cost +25 percent?

The best answer is Cost+ 25%. Normally retailers already have freight INCLUDED in the cost of the goods. Direct buy DOES NOT.

So if MSRP is 15,000 and landed cost is 7000.00 it doesn't take a genius to see that you would need to spend OVER 43000.00 to pay for your membership (assuming freight costs are equal)

As a consumer AND a retailer, I find it highly amusing to deal with potential direct buy customers. Not only are they mad at themselves for being duped, but also ashamed because a little bargaining can get them better prices without the initial outlay.

I think it's great that Marketplace warns consumers about DirectBuy's sales tactics. Even though the show was a little biased, consumers will have a better idea of what they are getting into. If you are thinking about joining DirectBuy, make a list of major items you plan to buy in the next 3 years and find out how much it will cost before attending the membership seminar.

Direct Buy is same scam-scheme to take your money as Time share sellers.Goverment has to stop it !

Direct Buy is a purchasing club, you have to have an idea of what you want, and then order those items from manufacturers' catalogues. The people at Direct Buy are not salespeople. We have been renovating a master bathroom, and finishing our basement. We have been pleased thus far with Direct Buy. There are local vendors with whom we can visit, ask questions, see merchandise/ tile/ cabinets, etc. The membership fee is steep, but we have saved that just in the few months we have been purchasing items through Direct Buy.Each Direct Buy is a franchise and you can experience varying degrees of support from their staff depending upon which office you visit. The Pickering/ Toronto East staff have been informative and supportive. My biggest complaint is not allowing my construction manager a more welcoming and interactive role when we visit the DB office to make purchases.

I was relly curious about Direct Buy after watching all the ads on late night tv. I was wondering what the catch was and why the people seemed so happy. I am glad I watched the show. Also it is very interesting to see how many of their employees were told to write in and put comments here. The really should have told them what to write, or maybe they did, because they all sound like the people on the ads. Buyer Beware!!!

Hoodwinked? Scammed?
Clearly the results of weak minded individuals who did not determine whether this was the right decision to make.

"3 purchases for a savings of $10" duh...Why did you think you needed this membership to begin with?

If you're planning a major renovation or have major purchases to make over a period of time..YOU DO SEE THE SAVINGS. Its not a matter of if..Its a matter of when. Period.
Eg: Our Rowe couch cost us $1400/tax incl. Sale price at a retailer from the store manager $2900 tx incl. EXACT same model.
Our entrance door. Painted, installed and handle set. $1400/tax in.
Home Depot: $2300- no handleset.
We've reno'd our entire kitchen and bathroom and have seen our $4500/back in spades.

Man. Common sense just isn't so common.
Hpe they pull aadvertising from you guys for your shoddy investigation.

Further to my earlier comments on being a happy Direc Buy member, I had no place to mention that the $4000 fee makes you a member for your lifetime ! (every three years, you have to renew at a cost of about $250). Someone earlier had made it sound like you have to pay the $4000 fee all over again at the end of a few years time.
I will be renewing for sure. I'm sorry Marketplace, but you really goofed this time. Nicole from Wpg

Hi everyone. I'm a very satisfied Direct Buy member and have been for 4 years now. The 4,000 cost was offset by the savings we made in the first 6 months! Of course, we were remodelling. The problem many people have is that they cannot afford the membership fee, let alone the tens of thousands of dollars spending to make it worthwhile. This is no different than the people who buy time share properties, then can't afford to use them! I find the sales tactics for these time shares are more aggresive than Direct Buy's, yet I hear no complaints about this. It is perfectly legal. I would encourage anyone who is going to be spending 20,000 or more in the next year to join. The more of us there are, the more power Direct Buy has when negotiating with the manufacturers on our behalf. Anyone who puts in a little effort will find a happy Direc Buy member! Nicole from Wpg

Those who have never been to a DB open house don't have the right to comment on how it works for members. Even though it is not for everyone, it is not limited to home owners. I have been a member for nearly 3 years and I rent an apartment. But guess what? I am still a consumer. I still have to buy things whether I like it or not like gifts that can't be denied, and oh yes, I have to buy towels, bedsheets, tires for my car and whatever else I happen to need. I didn't have to spend $15,000 to save my membership, in fact, I spent less than $4500 and within my first year of joining. Once my membership was paid for, my savings have allowed me to set aside the down payment to buy a house. As for Marketplace,I think someone needs to run a behind the scenes report on you. When did Marketplace get permission to spend YOUR money? Go see for yourself and make up your own mind.Who's the IDIOT now?

My husband and I signed up for DirecyBuy a month ago.We just bought our first house, but are young and don't have much money.We have to furnish our whole house and thought that DirectBuy would save us money.We can see that DirectBuy saves money for some people.But not us.You have to buy the big ticket items (over $5000) to make it worth it.You also have to factor in extremely high shipping costs and handeling fees.Finally, if you want something from the US, you have to pay conversion fees and duty.Not worth it for a $1000 couch that you can buy at Sears.We regret our membership and now feel guilty when shoping at regular stores.Also, you need so much time to go into the showroom to price out items and look at catalogues.DirectBuy is ok, but not for everyone.

Unfortunately marketplace failed to accurately report the high level of customer service provided by DirectBuy. Yes DirectBuy does handle warranty returns. DirectBuy processes approximately 30,0000 to 40,000 purchase orders per month from it's members and occasionally S#@! happens, as with any other company. Maybe next time they can balance their report by mentioning the 39,900 orders from the satisfied customers per month that saved a lot of money, not only the handful that had an issue.

If you are think you are saving money buying a $5000 membership and then paying all the extra fees good luck to you. I can always find a good deal on products if I shop around and I would have to spend thousands to save that $5,000. I don't think most people that buy this membership are will to spent the $50,000 it would take to save your $5,000+. As for the 100 complaints vs. the complaints to Sears or Home Depot, you also have to compare the volume of sales per complaint. Both Sears and Home Depot probably have less complaints per sale then Direct Buy. As for using Direct Buys low prices to get a better deal at a retail store is just plain silly. The the big boxes are not threatened by Direct Buys reduced prices as often there is almost no savings. I will stick to buying what I want, where I want, when I want it, because then I know what I am getting

I recently left Direct Buy of Winnipeg. I was working in the warehouse there for six weeks. I left because I didnt feel comfortable working there. I felt that the income that the franchise earned came almost exclusively from the membership fees. Also I just had a bad feeling about the company and your story only strengthened my beliefs.

Like so many others we joined Direct Buy a couple of years ago and were forced to make a decision on the spot and were told that, should we decide not to join right then, we would not be welcome again.
Several times we brought to their attention items that we had found elsewhere that were lower in price than what Direct Buy could offer. We where assured that they would look into this and get back to us. That was two years ago and I am still waiting for my answer.
We will never recoup our initiation fee and have decided that we will probably not renew.
For us to drive from North Bay to Barrie Costs us extra in gas and accommodations.
We were promised that the staff would always be available to assist us, but when you need help all this helpful staff is hiding.

"""A quote that we received from Home Depot for our cabinets was $29,800 while with Direct Buy for better quality cabinets the cost was #12,500."""- This statement is completely wrong. The cabinet quote would not be that different for this reason. 1. direct buy pays more for product than other vendors, because of their high fee to service. 2. They do not design the kitchen, 3. install it and often outsource other materials.. If home depot quote was higher it would be marginally higher and more inclusive..

So the CBC does a negative Marketplace story on Directbuy and then 2 days later I see an ad for Directbuy on CBC Newsworld.

What kind of hypocritical ' honest ' television is this?

No wonder Harper is not going to give you all that extra money you need.

Chuck

This was good journalism and a public service. But I too question the high number of Direct Buy ads being played on CBC TV right now. It seems investigative journalists have uncovered real issues, yet the CBC wants the ad revenue more than consistency or integrity.

Bought a memebership a year a go and in hopes of saving for our new house we built. Basically you save on the large appliances (fridge, stove) and the flooring. Through those 2 things we have saved money guessing around 3-4000 thousand over above the membership. It's not for everyone though you neeed time to go into the showroom and look through the cataloges and alot of patience...shipping can take up to 6 weeks. Staff is not very knowledgable either. You need to do your homework before you go there

If you listen carefully to their commercials you will notice the language is crafted to not be false advertising. Example, a woman says "one quote we got was $10,000.00, but we ended up paying only $3,000.00 to redo a small bathroom." She only talks about "one quote" which must have come from an expensive renovation company.
Then a man says "we were giving our money away to a retail store." How can that be, unless you're an idiot who doesn't compare prices which is so easy these days online. Better to take that 5K membership fee to pay down debt or pay for a project.

I am very glad that MarketPlace is showing the truth that DirectBuy is a scam.
I know someone who is happy with DirectBuy but she already have 2 homes and her wage is $50,000/year.
I just bought a Condo Townhouse and in debt. I just started a good job. I would not go for DirectBuy. DirectBuy made ads showing me that it is a headache free company that links good manufacturer to consumers but it does not tell you how customer service is run and how you handle issues such as defective merchandise. Plus what to do with bad sales rep. Keep up the good work MarketPlace.

Come on people...get a BRAIN...there are thousands of stores out there with unlimited deals...any place that commands a $5000.00 membership fee is crooked in my books!!!!!!!!! I have found and bought everything (high quality items) for my house on SALE...shop around and you will always find the right item and price.

There is a sucker born every minute, with Direct Buy there are so many hands in the pot that it is impossible to save any money, those that say they did have not shopped around.

We visited a Direct Buy in Toronto, to "scope out" what all the fuss is about and to find out if the potential benefits would justify any cost involved.

We asked for the time to consider the program before we made a decision and we received the "sign up now or you will never be invited back" routine. We wavered for a few minutes and politely challenged the fairness of this policy. After several times indicating that we were not prepared to put that kind of financial committment up front, we were promptly shown the door. The really funny part was that the "gentleman" we were dealing with even said to us, "Oh, you won't be needing those name tags, I'll take them!" It was really an eye opener and we actually quite amused with how ridiculous it all was.

I am a renovator in toronto and have picked up product from directbuy on behalf of customers.When I was at db pickingup I was asked to sign release of the product and was told by their shippers I could not open the boxes to inspect them for completeness.When I was at the showroom while waiting for shipping I wandered upfront into their showroom and was impressed at the variety of samples shown.I was accosted by a sales person and told them I was just picking up and was not a member I was quickly hustled out of the showroom and told it was for members only.My customers experience was a positive one. I have tried unsuccesfully many times to get invited to an "associates" presentation for installers but was told I could come ONLY if I brought my wife who is not involved with my business at all.Would love to see a show on their franchise opportunity and how that works.

First, the happy people are all use the same "comments" almost scripted??. Second, Why are there so many unhappy customers, if everything is so rosey. Third, My in laws went to the invite, no all so "up and up" - not allowed to see the catalouges, very limited inventory etc... and pretty shady answers to direct questions.
I worked retail - I was honest to customers and never had a problem, the BS about bargaining with other retailers is marketing BS, that's capitalism and Direct Buy knows this. Open your eyes people!!

Marketplace does this revealing report on Direct Buy but I see they are still running their commercials every ten minutes!!! Isn't that a little hypocritical CBC?

So far, based on the comments, I feel that Direct Buy may not be for people with small projects. It appears that for the members that had big kitchen and bathroom projects, they are able to save money even with the hefty $5,000 membership fee. Consumers have to be aware that businesses are there to make money. How much realistically, do consumers expect to save dollar wise on a BBQ or a set of dishes??
I've concluded that unless I have a BIG project, Direct Buy is not for me, based on the comments and Marketplace report.

If you believe the DirectBuy line - "we cannot let you come back because the manufacturers won't allow it" - you have been fooled. It's part of the high pressure sales tactic. If it was a legitimate business model they would simply be a catalogue order business, with a smaller markup than other retailers. The membership fee is a scam that counts on most people not getting their money's worth.
And re: their treatment of people who did not sign. My girlfriend and I went to their pitch session, saw that it was a scam and decided against it. The salesperson glared at us, turned and walked away without a word. I followed her and asked if we had to sign anything, and she said "no, now leave please." That is the truth; unbelievable. They are a twisted company.

Great piece Erica. I was reading through the comments and notices there seems to be some happy Direct Buy customers. I guess the moral of the story is if Direct Buy is such a good deal, there should not be high pressure, "sorry a deal is a deal" attitude. This in itself stinks of rip off. Any company who is worth earning our business should offer a full money back guarantee if you are not happy with their service. If the don't, then they realize you most likely won't be happy, therefore do not offer a money back guarantee.

This needs to be legislated like in the US. It will keep these companies honest.

R

I too am a DirectBuy member. Unlike most of those who have commented so far, I am a very happy member.
DirectBuy is a "Member's Only" Showroom so I'd like to know how people can come to an Open House and claim they had no idea there was fees involved. Are you serious?
The information package and visitor's pass I received clearly stated that my decision was required at the Open House I attended. There was no "surprise" or high pressure sales tactics because I had the sense to investigate before I attended and knew what I was in for. Seems to me, any competent adult would do the same.
I am going to buy things for the rest of my life and I would much rather do it at cost. Seems like a no-brainer. All those small purchases add up over the years and in less than 18 months, I have saved $2900 on tires, $500 on invitations & $3600 on 2 big screen tv's. A rip off - far from it!

Thankyou Marketplace for continuing to inform Canadians to be wary of such enterprises.
In these times, there are plenty of huge sales, & auctions of stock from bankrupt businesses & you don't have to pay a $5000.00 membership fee.
I see these clowns going the way of Furniture Direct, & the franchise owners will find themselves also a victim of DB.

I TO WAS A MEMBER OF DIRECT BUY IN 1994 WHEN MEMBERSHIP WAS 12OO DOLLORS RENEWAL 164.00 I JOINED BECAUSE I OWN A BODYSHOP IN OTTAWA AND WAS TOLD THEY ADVERTIZE YOUR BUSINESS ON THERE WALL AS WELL IN THIER MONTHY NEWS LETTER THEY NEVER PLACED MY BUSINESS ANYWHERE IN THE SHOWROOM AND IN THE NEWS LETTER ALL THEY HAD WAS MY PERSONAL NAME WITH THE WORD AUTOBODY REPAIR WHEN I RETURN TO THE STORE AND MY BUSINESS WAS NOT LISTED I WAS TOLD THEN THEY DON'T LIST YOUR BUSINESS BY IT'S NAME MY MAIN REASON FOR JOINING WAS I WAS A NEW BUSINESS AND LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET NEW BUSINESS I ASK FOR A REFUND BECAUSE I JOINED BASE ON ADVERTIZING AS WELL AS SAVING MONEY WHICH WAS REFUSED WHEN I TIED TO BUY A NEW WASHING MACHINE THE ONLY SAVING WAS 50 DOLLORS AND SIX WEEKS TO GET IT I WENT TO LEONS ASK FOR A 50 DOLLOR DISCOUNT ON A BETTER WASHER GIVING THE SAME PRICE WITH NEXT DAY DELIVING

My husband and I are seniors, and need to save,so this was very enticing. We were there for several hours, and was taken through their catalogs. I had item numbers and cost of what we needed, so we thought we were educated. It seemed like a great saving, until we had to pay for shipping and handling. Plus we then had to p/u ourselves, and do our own delivery, way up north.When we went to buy other things. they were always higher.We also were told we could never come back, unless we bought right then. Once we signed, we were told we can never share our contract with anyone. and no one can ever know the prices we paid. Or we would have our membership revoked. We do not have the extra money and I feel this is a scam, and now understand all the secrecy. Let's band together and have a louder voice. We just joined 1 1/2 months ago. and am very frustrated. Where is our protection? Dorothey

I have had a Direct Buy membership for almost 8 years and it has been one of the best investments I have ever made. We have saved $30-50K in that time.

Our Edmonton location has great service and we recommend it to others if asked. It is not for everyone, but it can be a real asset if used to its potential.

Buying cheap BBQ's, DVD players and the like will not translate into savings. Buying big ticket items like good furniture (mattresses, dining room sets, couches, etc.), or mid to high-end electronics will net you good savings.

This show as very bias and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Why is it that positive comments have to be "paid for" but negative comments from people who have never set foot in a Direct Buy store or who went and decided it was not for them are gospel?

MarketPlace is a TV SHOW. It is sensationalist and designed to grab attention. MarketPlace clearly HAS NO DESIRE TO TELL THE TRUTH. Many many facts in this show are flat out WRONG. Members know this. Employees know this. This is why there are people commenting who are outraged at the audacity of this show and their blatent sensationalism.

At our Direct Buy, we ARE told all about the fees like duty and shipping IN THE TOUR. It is explained at length. If that woman missed it, she was NOT PAYING ATTENTION, which is pretty stupid considering the heavy financial decision she was asked to make. The membership is not for everyone. But renovations = BIG savings. Be Smart. Buy Smart.

in canada there is a law that states any contract signed in canada you have within 10 days to get out of a contract as long as you have not taken posession of the merchandise.
many people do not know this and i think its an important thing to be aware of for your own protection

Wow - I used to like your show...

I have a first hand account so I know this story is totally bias. It makes me wonder how wrong you guys are on all the other topics you cover that I don't personally know about. You went from my must watch show to nothing more than Maury Povich Show

I've been a member for over 3 year. I watch you show on my new LCD TV that was $5000 at Bleeker's, FutureShop, etc and I only paid $3000!! with no handling or shipping fee.
I'll be the first to admit that Direct Buy isn't for everyone, you have to spend a lot to save a lot and if you plan on buying higher quality items or electronics that have jsut hit the market, you save tones of money.

We built a house and purchase most of our items at Direct Buy. I saved easily $30K over prices at HomeDepot and other hardware/housesupply stores.

My husband and I joined Direct Buy 3 years ago and I have been disappointed ever since. WE WERE PRESSURED TO BUY INTO THE MEMBERSHIP AND WERE TOLD THAT WE HAD TO DECIDE THAT NIGHT! We were not told ahead of time at all what the memberships fees were and we were told that we could not come back but had to decide right then. We were starting to build our new home and with all the savings that they promised us we thought it might be a good investment. HOW WRONG WE WERE!!!! We did not purchase 1 thing for our house. We bought all our materials, kitchen, bathrooms, flooring at our stores for much less. I even bought all my appliances at another store for a lot less than Direct Buys'price. I agree it is not convient at all. I have been just sick about this, so this Christmas I decided to try and order a Royal Doulton doll only to find out it was being sold to me for the same price as Costco!

My wife and I have regretted our 2005 decision to join Direct Buy.We shared the concerns raised in your program but we also had further issues.
Our major concerns related to their very poor service once you have paid for the membership. Basically they point you to the product catalogues and expect you to somehow inform yourself about all of the product requirements and considerations (eg. sizings, hardware requirements, installation needs). Then, once purchased you are on your own if you made an error in the ordered items. You are charged membership, shipping, handling, etc. costs and receive almost no service assistance for your investment. As a typical consumer, try to purchase cupboards or flooring without informed support.
An additional challenge was in our failed attempt to get a refund for an installation accessory that they incorrectly added to a sink we purchased.

Great timing for the show! We are frustrated beyond belief with DB right now. We're looking at buying a whole kitchen of appliances. I can't find a matching line of anything! Most appalling is the quarterly DB magazine in which they feature a beautiful kitchen furnished with Kitchen Aid appliances, less that half of which were available. When I pointed this out to a rep, she called head office, and was told that the member(me), didn't know what they were, and Kitchen Aid does not even have gas cooktops. I pointed out to the rep that KA does in fact have them, and showed her my other price quotes with photos. She shrugged her shoulders, said sorry, and that was it. How's that for customer service! That's only one of our frustrations. We would NOT recommend DB to anyone!

I was surprised not to hear you mention in your investigative report that, at least in Ontario, the Consumer Protection Act 2002 allows you to have a 10 day cooling off period. My wife and I went to a DirectBuy presentation and completely feel for the hype too. It was easy to convince us because we were about to buy a brand new home. We started to regret having signed the contract and wanted out. I expected it to be a long and difficult process but it was not. Five days after we signed the contract, we sent the manager of the local branch a registered mail re Cancellation of Membership Agreement referring to that 10 day cooling off provisions. Within a week, we received a call from the manager just wanting to confirm our decision and informing us we wouldn't be able to join again in the future. We got our money back.

Great job Erica!!

As a home improvement contractor for over 27 years, I decided to check out this company and EVEN paid the $5000 membership on the spot so I could see the quality & workmanship of their products. This is a scam of epic proportions!!! Cheap kitchen cabinets (formica, made in China), poorly-designed granite counter-tops, etc.etc. To all of you that buckled under the pressure to sign do your homework!!!! To everyone that DID'NT sign, good for you!!!

I signed because I wanted to see what they had to offer but the ONLY THING I got out of this company was a $5000 Tax write-off on my business and some good laughs!!!!

If you financed the membership purchase, know this. The contractual agreement that Direct-Buy has with the financing company ie. Travelers Acceptance provides for the finance company to indemnified against loss and recover all monies advanced to Direct-Buy. The catch is that you must put your account with the financing company into default.

It is clear that this Directbuy episode was clearly set out to show only the negative side of Directbuy. As someone prior said....good news will not sell T.V. I am a freelance Kitchen designer and have been in the kitchen business for over 16 years. I freelance to Directbuy as well as retail showrooms. I design kitchens from low end to the very high end for both locations and with no doubt the savings on this type of product after any and all fees that might be involved give members of directbuy an average of 50% savings on the cabinets alone. In most cases just the purchase of a average kitchen will save them far more than any membership paid....Day after day members say to me "Wow really, that's it...taxes and everything...There is no scam...the savings are huge...remember even the "BIG BOX" retail location mark up kitchen cabinets about 70%. I know...because I set up their pricing.

Reading the positive comments on Direct Buy and the slagging of CBC coverage looks a lot like a Conservative party whip round of party faithfuls to inundate the press with positive comments on an unpopular policy. Too many of the infomerical cliches regurgitate.

For the guy that thinks in this day and age a 40 to 50% markup in retail is normal, you are hilariously mistaken. Average big retailers are pulling in less margin than ever! Usually in the low to mid 30's if they're lucky.On appliances it's down in the single to low double digits.

As for Direct Buy, it's so clear they sent a memo to franchise owners after that interview, and maybe members, (also known as Kool Aid drinkers), to comment here and try and save face. How contrived.

And what was with them throwing the franchise owner out there to try and justify their tactics, and mention a new 'cooling-off' period.(That was uncomfortable to watch) No company worth it's salt would do that. And it wouldn't have looked as bad on them if they had someone from Direct Buy head office speak to Erica. But no, they wouldn't. and for those think they're saving - you're likely not!

I recently joined Direct Buy an highly regret it.

The promises Direct Buy made to me during their presentations are not translating to the real thing.

The prices are not that cheap, in fact, I found a lot of things for the same price online at futureshop. And the variety is not great either, yes there are a lot of manufactures but very few of them are brand name and for some specific products there is not a great variety. I wrote to Direct Buy to ask for them to cancel my membership after I saw their real deal, and they refused telling me that their clients were satisfied and that the contract was not cancelable. I would go to small claims but the costs associated to that are too high for me. If anyone wants to join in a class action lawsuit in Ottawa, contact me.

Great report, and under cover work...That is exactly the way all the sales reps at Direct Buy are. I Feel sorry for anyone who falls for this scam as I did!!!

I hope you do a follow up report to show us consumers that they have not changed. Buyers Beware, if you want it cheap look on E-Bay. I know you will find it cheaper, with better service...

Direct Buy member for 3 years. I can recite a litany of complaints; horrible customer service, handling fees eating savings, "experts" that were no where near qualified.

However:first purchase was cherry kitchen cabinets and we saved over 60%. This MORE than paid for our membership. We shopped around for the appliances. On some appliances we saved over $1000. Others,we ended up buying elsewhere.I have also had excellent service.

I have returned damaged items directly to DB without difficulty and they sent out an installer to correctly determine what a problem was with an order - mistake made by their "expert". We were given the opportunity to review the catalogues prior to purchase and were informed in advance how the sales pitch worked.

Marketplace as usual has a biased report based on the story they want to sell. DB is not for sissies - we saved enough to make it worth it.

I think if you're about to gutt a room in your house and rebuild it, Direct Buy may be worth considering. In my case, when I bought my new home a few years ago and went looking for new furniture and appliances, I considered buying a Direct Buy membership, but after looking over someone elses contract, I decided against it. The $5000 membership fee was a bit hard to swallow too. I ended up furnishing my new home by shopping at the big-box stores and buying at clearance centres.

The pressure tactics you described are also very familiar too.

HEAR YE HEAR YE FOR ALL THOSE VILLAGES MISSING THEIR IDIOTS, FEAR NOT FOR THEY PRESENTLY RESIDE AS OWNERS, WORKERS AND MEMBERS OF THE DIRECT BUY CULT. HOW SAD FOR THEM!!!

Funny how all the positive letters echo the TV commercial. Doesn't it seem like the same poster has posted multiple entries? Yes my wife and I were one of the smarter couples who asked questions, reviewed prices, overheard people complaining about not getting any better prices than they could from retail stores and left without loosing any money. Jonestown, maybe not, but don't drink the koolaid (read as DON'T GET SUCKERED INTO THEIR MEMBERSHIP SCAM)

My husband and I joined DirectBuy five years ago when the membership fees at the time were roughly $3800. After the first three years as covered by the initial large membership payment, our annual membership fee became $435. We recently decided to let our membership go as we did not find the products or savings we were after. Case in point: We found a trendy major brand name refrigerator at a local Vancouver company that was below cost, included a five-year warranty and nominal delivery fee. Ultimately, it seems that the amount of research required to make large purchases can be just as effective on one's own without joining DirectBuy. For the record, DirectBuy seems to have worked well for a few of our friends and family members that have made major renovations or built from scratch. But for one-off or once-in-a-while types of big purchases, it still saves to shop around.

I joined 3 yrs ago, paid $3000 and just recently re-newed for $195 for 1 year.

I'm been happy, bought all my appliances, flooring, etc for a new house.I do extensive research on prices and Direct Buy is cheaper on all but a few items.

I'm looking at wall tile now and its 40% off retail, with an 8% handling fee and a small charge for shipping.

You do save money - the key is do your own research, don't let Direct Buy tell you about prices.

If you go to a presentation insist on seeing the catalogs and look up the items you wish to buy BEFORE you go.

Thanks.

Did the tour. We wondered if the well-dressed, happy shoppers were placed there for our benefit. We left after the presentation; as promised, there have been no more calls from Direct Buy.

There is a Website where there are supposed unbiased reviews from the public on Direct Buy. These reviews are obviously posted by Direct Buy as they are all glowingly positive. I am sure that some of the positive comments here are actually the work of Direct Buy. Anyone can post a comment including their competitors. However I have heard personally only negative comments from my friends who have went to a Direct Buy meeting. Congratulations to Market Place for having the guts to take on a possible advertiser.

When is someone within the 3 levels of Government going to put an end to this Directbuy scam, I can't believe they simply choose to wash their hands of this Rip-off Company. I bet that if someone within the 3 levels of Government had Sons and Daughters scammed out of their hard earned money by Directbuy something would be done really quick. Maybe it will take someone walking into a Directbuy location and going Postal before something will be done. Surely there has to be someone out there with some backbone willing to stand up for the Canadian consumer. Maybe as in the States a Class-action Lawsuit against Directbuy needs to be started here in Canada.

Direct Buy is not for everyone as we can see from the comments.

To reap the benefits, which are real, you have to be an disciplined shopper. It involves more work than sopping retail but it is worth it. If you have big tag purchases in the future you'll save the membership many times over.
The merchandise can be returned to Direct Buy at my branch and they are usually helpful with inspecting the quality and accuracy of the shipment. The shipping fees vary from one vendor to another.

I didn't find the show balanced. We all make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. People that have mostly everything they need already in the house, might have caved in out of greed for more deals and got the membership. I agree that high pressure sales tactics are unwelcome as people using Direct Buy prices as leverage in dealing with the retail stores.

Direct Buy is not a bad deal if used properly.

Thanks to Erica, I have found a topic for a newspaper editorial assignment at my school. Thanks so much!

Joining Direct Buy was the biggest mistake I have made in a long time.

I went with my wife to visit the company in Ottawa where I was met by an elderly sales rep who sent myself and my wife with many others in a private room to hear a sales pitch on how much money you could save with this fantastic club.

After the presentation, the sales women gave us a pitch but would not show us any of the catalogues they had on shelves. We were told that if we did not sign now, we would never get this "opportunity" again, so like lambs being prepared for the slaughter, we signed.

When we got home, we had second thoughts because of all the pressure and called the company on a Monday to cancel. They said that once we signed the contract, it could not be cancelled.

Well to make a long story short, we never bought anything. You don't really save!!!

Why do so many of the positive comments posted contain Direct Buy buzzwords like "the inside scoop" "educated consumers" "high end" and statements like "I have saved big" or concrete figures on how much they have "saved". All of these seem like statements from the consumer zombies in the Direct Buy ads. Is Direct Buy a cult ? Statements like "this membership is not for everyone" are repeated throughout the above pro-Direct Buy comments. Thank you for airing this, and banishing the Direct Buy ads from CBC, seemingly within minutes of this feature!

i made purchases at direct buy. they are only cheaper than retailers by an average 0f 10%, and in many cases, direct buy costs MORE if you are willing to do leg work to find the best deals.

Isn't requiring a name and email just as high pressure as anything else out there. Lets compare your site to your show prey on peoples fears of the unknown and make monsters out of everyone and everything. I also know a bit about math and if the better business beurau only receives 240 something complaints out of hunders of thousands of memberships it wouldn't take much to see the real liars and cheats are the producers of your show. Cutting room floor is probably full of things you never want people to know just so you can be considered some great crusader for fairness. Never will watch your show again and regretted watching it this time. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.

Thank you , merci, thank you.

Not to become a member

Yes 3 years ago we went to the Saskatoon store for our intro. meeting, there where two other couples there, one older couple and one younger couple. My husband is in sales in his work and immedially knew this was high pressure sales and so he asked lots of questions in the group of 6 of us, and after about 20 minutes we where showen the door to leave. Glad we didn't join. Friends we know couldn't belive it so we said go and check it out. We saved our $2500.00. We have never been kicked out a store before.

Found this report very interesting.I know of one person who joined the London,On. store a few years ago...seems to me that he actually paid a higher fee and that after a year, you were required to pay a renewal fee.(of course this may have changed since then). Personally, I contacted them some years ago when they first opened here and were advertising to call for a tour. Being an avid amateur decorator (and having no idea what they were really about),I gave them a call. First question I was asked was how much I would be spending in the next year, to which I replied probably a couple of thousand and was promptly told that a tour would not be available to me.I now understand why they were rude!

My only question to you is why the CBC has no problem in taking their advertising dollars for relentless late night viewing for such a questionable business practice?Tell me this is no longer so..?

Direct buy is a joke and i've been telling a good friend for years. They built a house and they saved nothing. The price was almost the same(usually more)than local building centers.Home Depot was expensive on kitchens as was direct buy.They say they saved thousands untrue.Same kitchen buy a local cabinet maker installed was almost $3000 less than Direct buy and it was installed with a warranty.MSRP means nothing.Windows and doors were about $100 to $175 more per window.Anyone that believes this has got to be very nieve.I can't believe people fall for these scams.

Very interesting piece on Direct Buy. We also had an invitation to one of their open houses and experienced the same, "Sign up now or you can never come back" line. One of the most sage pieces of advice I have ever received is "Never be afraid to walk away from a deal that doesn't seem right" We walked.

First off -

only good membership is Costco where you have total money back policy.

Second Story

What a waste of food.

I am a satisfied Direct Buy member who was not paid to say it.

But I do have an idea for Marketplace. Expose all Car Dealerships. I need a car, but they always force me to give them money and sign a contract before I can have the car . Then 2 years later I feel like I was swindled. I want all my money back?

Actually, there are no Direct Buy's in Quebec because of their bilingual laws. Everything has to be posted in english and french and because the majority of manufacturers are from the US, their catalogues are not available in both languages, but thanks for coming out.

How can you justify a business that has been established over 35 years with more then 160 locations situated in North America in a matter of 20 minutes? Let alone when the episode your airing is completely biased.
Most educated, individuals will at the very least read all of the information they recieve before going into something. As for the Directbuy information you are given before attending an Open house, it clearly states that you are required to make a decision before leaving. It is not a rule that Directbuy has specifically set aside, but rather the manufactuers. It's really quite simple. The membership either justifies the money you'll spending or it doesn't.
And if you decide it's not for you, you have 7 years to think about whether or not you made a mistake. So the whole " your never invited back scenerio" is wrongly stated.Next show you air, try to get some facts in there!

If you check DirectBuy locations in Canada at: www.directbuy.com/About/CentersCA.htm
you'll find that there is not a single one in Quebec.
There's a good reason for this: Quebec has consumer laws that permit cancellation of the type of contract that DirectBuy wants you to sign in a hurry. In Quebec, there is no hurry. I guess DirectBuy doesn't like these kinds of laws.

The comments seem like the type of thing you'd hear about a religious cult.

Every negative comment comes with a "you just weren't doing it right, otherwise it would have worked for you" response.

If it REALLY was such a good deal, they would allow people to think about it for more than a day before making a decision and risk being banned for life from a supposedly great deal.

And as for the people signing back up? That doesn't prove anything. Slot machines have an excellent return rate. That doesn't make them a wise move, although there are probably people who will argue not playing the slots is a sign of financial ignorance too.

Boo Direct Buy.

I realized the promise was hollow when the cost of their old model camcorders were more expensive than current units.

Also wonder how many of the positive comments were from "franchise" owners.

Great story on how not to waste your money! By the way, it sounds like there is a lot of Direct Marketing on this very board. Every board Ive read addressing consumer complaints regarding directbuy (and there are many) for some reason, always ends up with tons of happy customers /positive reviews! Seems to me they employ people to do this.

Do not join this place. And if you do as a couple and you want to make sure you don't get stuck with the monthly payments, do not say you will be the main buyer because you will be stuck with the contract if ever you brake up. This happened to me when my ex and I broke up. The contract was in his mame but because we put me as the main buyer, I've been stuck paying the monthly fees. Nobody wanted to help at Direct Buy. So now I'm stuck with this $165.00 payment and he get good credit. And I haven't bought one thing from this place because I'm broke. This Direct Buy might is for the very rich, not the average home owner because the amount you pay for the membership can go towards better things if you do the math.

Throughout this episode I kept waiting to see the high pressure sales tactics ... all I saw was them advising them that this was a one time offer today! At no time do they show them stop anyone from leaving. If someone is uncomfortable with the situation were they going to physically stop them from leaving ... did the doors have to be unlocked with a key in order for them to exit ... I just don't get it.

On another note, as far as the one time offer ... the Brick just had a VIP event (I just happened to walk through their door that day) which offered savings for that day only ... every year we have a one time Boxing Day sale on the 26th ... would these be charactersied as high pressure sales?

One last thought ... if Marketplace was at Direct Buy, why did they not interview one person outside who was a member and ask why they continue to be a member?

Regarding Georgette's comment on same sex partners as Direct Buy Members.

My partner and I have been members of Direct Buy for little under a year. We always feel comfortable and welcome when dealing with the anyone at Direct Buy.

It's a shame that the good, hardworking people of Direct Buy have had this sham of yellow journalism sully their reputation.

As for Marketplace and the CBC, maybe with all of CBC's financial woes, you can like up Fox News in the States. Seems like a natural fit.

How can Marketplace complain about Directbuy when the CBC has Directbuy commercials on it's Toronto station. I know that the CBC is desperate for advertising but can you take money from a company and then complain about how bad of a company it is? I didn't see Marketplace confront the CBC advertising department on selling commercial spot for such a dishonest company. Maybe you should do a follow up confronting the CBC and make them pull DirectBuy commercials.

I missed the show but after reading the comments posted I am disappointed to hear that Marketplace cast such a negative light on Directbuy. My wife and I have been members for 3 years and have saved over $25,000 after paying for the intial membership fee. Before attending the openhouse we knew about the high membership fee but knowing that we were building a new house and needed flooring, appliances, furniture, cabinetry, blinds, tiles and more it was really a no brainer. We have no regrets. If you have no renovations planned and have everything you need then it obviously makes no sense to be a Directbuy member.

We joined Direct Buy under DURESS! "Join now, or never have the option again" was what we were presented with. "Get items at half the MSRP price" was their by-line. HORSE HOCKEY! When you add the hidden costs, they are mostly more expensive than retail. It cost us $5,000.00 to find out. We bought a hood range that later we found out was less expensive overall at Home Depot. We wanted to buy shoes that ended up more than twice as expensive than Sears for the same shoes!

Is there any recourse? Can we sue for misrepresentation? Can we group these unhappy people and go "en-masse"?
Please help us from this legal rip-off!

$5000 or higher for a membership is absurd. When we joined it came to under $3000 and I thought that was high. We have saved, but only because major furniture purchases were made. The higher end or more expensive the product you're buying the larger the margins. You're not going to get your membership back by buying pots and pans, come on, even if the pots and pans were free, think about how many you'd have to buy to make up for your membership. Highest margins are on high end furniture and cabinetry etc. What I've found is that you end up paying the same amount as your budget for a particular piece of furniture, except that you end up getting the better brand/quality. It is certainly not for everyone and the high pressured approach is ridiculous, but that's they way they play it. It is a franchise, so each location will be run differently.

I am very disappointed that a "jounalist" could be so subjective and one-sided with her take on DirectBuy. I have been a member for 8 years and have saved thousands, way beyond the membership fee that I initially spent. I could not be happier about my membership and the customer service I received from them. Why didn't they show the thousands and thousands of dollars that people have saved on kitchen cabinets, or window coverings, or furniture, or appliances? Instead they show pots and pans and a barbecue. Who expects to get their membership fee back on those low-priced items? Plus they tell you up front that shipping and handling fees are added to the orders - after all, items don't arrive from the manufacturer via a magical teleporter for free! I will never watch a news program from CBC again, in fact, we should run for the door each time this program is on.

I was disappointed with the biased way you presented Direct Buy. Any reasonably well informed consumer can handle a sales pitch presented by this company. People who sign up for a Direct Buy contract have to take some responsibility for their actions. The reasons for the club type membership are made very clear. Benefits from membership are laid out. The staff at Direct Buy are simply doing their jobs to be persistent with trying to get people to join. At no time during our sign up presentation did the sales people evade questions. The employees went out of their way to answer everything asked of them, offered person email addresses for further contact, price quotations etc. Your Marketplace program highlighted a number of people who felt scammed. There wasn't any balanced reporting. The grippers, and there are always some, should point the finger at themselves for being dumb consumers.

I registered for a DirectBuy appointment in 2007. Prior to my appointment, I did receive literature via mail informing me that this was my "one and only chance" to become a member and I'd have to commit that day. I wasn't impressed reading this, but shrugged it off.

Well, I missed my "one and only chance" appointment (thank goodness!) and soon after, DirectBuy started calling to "invite me" to reschedule. The calls started at several times a week, but have dropped in frequency and I even got a call this year (2009). The point is, they want those membership fees and lied about the "one and only" chance. I missed their high-pressure sales tactics and therefore, am still prime for the "killing". Thanks Marketplace for confirming my suspicions about them.

My wife and I recently attended a Direct Buy presentation just after purchasing a home. Advertizing we had seen claimed that members would save tens of thousands of dollars on purchases made thru Direct Buy. I was skeptical. And I wasn’t disappointed. The only other time I had been subjected to such a high pressure sales tactic was years ago when I attended a business opportunity meeting which was actually a recruitment session for pyramid sales. It was the same approach; sign now or our lose the opportunity. One we finished with the Direct Buy group session we made a hasty retreat.
When my wife and I read the positive comments above, posted by happy satisfied members, we wondered just how many were actually Direct Buy owners/employees working a positive spin. Seems too many references to savings of tens of thousands and the uneducated not understanding the concept.
We appreciate Market Place exposing this scam.

After 2.5 yrs, saved $28,000/now a dining set saving $900 (after Taxes,SH&F). The show was one sided & offensive when the 2 people who spoke well of DB were dismissed as "they sound like those people on TV", because they believe in DB -as do we! Shame on Marketplace! Educated consumers know going into this what the deal is. We researched the company prior to the seminar, and went in knowing prices of key items. We stayed for a few hrs, checking everything out, and making many notes and comparisons. Our slsperson checked on us occasionaly to see how we were doing, and at no time 'pressured' us into making a decision. They were very respectful, and simply provided information. Yes there is a renewal fee, but it is minimal, and easily saved on a single purchase. It's unfortunate that some feel 'duped'. They should have done their research first, and recognized that DB wasn't for them.

We've been members for awhile and yes if your ordering for the States you will have to paid all those extra costs. We have found great deals on major purchase's made in Canada like appliances and electronics. If your smart and do your research you will be able to save big.
Luck thing is we did not paid the $5,000.

HERE'S THE FACTS:
THOSE 3 ITEMS THEY SHOWED LAST NIGHT(WHICH BY THE WAY ALL SHOWED SAVINGS)2 OUT OF THE 3 DO NOT HAVING ADDITIONAL CHARGES! SO JUST ON THOSE 3 SMALL ITEMS MEMBERS SAVE OVER $500 ! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH YOU WOULD SAVE ON LARGER ITEMS, WHICH WE ALL ARE GOING TO NEED TO REPLACE OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, IF NOT SOONER! THIS IS ALSO A LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP! HOW MANY TIMES IN A LIFETIME WILL YOU NEED TO REPLACE SMALLER ITEMS AND LARGER ITEMS?! FOR ANYONE TO NOT ATTEND AN OPEN HOUSE AFTER WATCHING THIS EPISODE TO GET THE REAL FACTS ARE THE STUPID ONES! AS FOR CBC, I WILL NEVER WATCH YOUR STATION AGAIN! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO CANADIAN BROADCASTING!

We stopped in to check out direct buy and found out the joining fee was REALLY expensive...so we said not interested the people who worked there got real snotty with us and were not pleasant after

Im glad someone like marketplace finally decided to give this highly suspicious company the media attention it clearly deserves. As for the last comment posted. It just reminds me of the TV ads. What kind of crack head would spend 12000 dollars on kitchen cabinets ? Seriously !! As for Home Depot selling them for 28000, I would have to actually go into their store to see it for myself, but at this point Im convinced that is total garbage. Just like the ludicrous dollar figures on the commercial,, "we saved 11000 dollars, the kitchen cabinets alone were close to 33000." Oh well, if people in this world are actually stupid enough to pay the kind of money that can buy close to half a house,(at least where I live) then I guess they deserve to have a company around willing to "see them coming."

Watched your show with great interest. I'm embarrassed to say I was one of those who were intimidated into signing up for a membership; at that time it was $3,000 for 2 years. As I didn't have the full cash amount, I had to finance it; at 17.75% it cost almost $900 extra to do that. I bought one gold bracelet which came from the US, and by the time I'd paid the exchange rate, the shipping, etc., and then retroactive charges that were above and beyond the DirectBuy estimate, I probably could have bought it cheaper in town.

Thinking back on the experience now, I think DirectBuy could save people money if they're buying carpets, kitchen cabinets, etc., that the member can pick up and install themselves. My interest lay in appliances, and these could be bought more reasonably and with better service options in a local store, since installation isn't an option that DirectBuy offers.

Listen, heard both sides of the story, and it sounds to me like Direct Buy has something going for it here. From what i gather, it sounds like you pay a fee, INSTEAD of retail markup, simple. I've worked in retail before, and the margin was around 40% to 50% on the products we sold. So if the membership fee is $5000 for 3 years, and they have that much stuff to choose from, and if you can get around the catalog shopping, then it seems like a no-brainer to join, if your going to buy stuff, and value your money.

Could we please now have a show with the Happy well informed Direct Buy members???? When I first bought mine I thought what have I done? But I have used it only 5 times in 7yrs and have saved at least $20000 on those 5. You need to know your prices, and realize that you are not buying the cheep stuff, thats why I go to Walmart. If you want quality products at a good price you wll find it at Direct Buy.

I am an "elderly shut in" who was not allowed to get assistance from my mate/partner to help shop at DB and have spent nothing through them in two years. If she doesn't do it, it doesn't get done. I paid the exhorbitant membership fee (still miffed about the instant decision tactic) because I expected to spend well over $100,000 in supplying my new million dollar house after a devastating fire caused by a random act of vandalism.
I immediately found that DB does not handle higher end value products. My second choice in a fridge was for the Samsung Quatro but was told they did not handle Samsung appliances, only electronics. Then it was featured in the Spring 2007 Direction publication. I was told to call the national number but they told me it had to be done locally. 100% frustration.
So nothing has ever happened. Since I have been prevented from using DB I want a refund.

We bought our DirectBuy membership a couple of years ago with the intention of doing major renovations. During a break in the sales pitch we checked out the prices on appliances and figured we would at least recoup our membership fees. The slick pitch with the "now or never" made us nervous; no mention of a cooling off period. We bought, and regretted it. Until we made our first purchase. The spa tub cost $1800 including air jets; the same tub cost $3800 just the base model without jets in retail. We also saved on tile, toilets and fixtures. We more than recouped out membership. The cons: buying unseen from a catalogue, you have to pick it up yourself, you don't know when it will come in (although our orders arrived in timely fashion), unknown recourse if product doesn't work and your contractor may not be too happy you used DirectBuy. It is not a savings on all things (e.g. furn

I was pretty dissapointed with your show. It was extremely one sided. When I joined in 2005 I did not by any means feel pressured. (If you want to see high pressure sales, try going to an RCI {time share} sales pitch) I feel like you tried to find the worst possible sales lady and put her on camera-I think she was terrible. The lady we dealt with in London was very professional and told us not to join if we were not comfortable with the decision.
Also in the info they send you, it tells you that you have to decide that night. It's not DirectBuys fault that people can't read.
We have saved way more than the membership cost over the past few years and know we'll save even more with our upcoming kitchen reno.
My sister-in-law is upset with her membership. BUT SHE DOESN'T EVEN USE IT. Again not DirectBuy's fault. If you are not going to use it don't join!

Great Story
My wife and I went to their show room in Markham two years ago since we wanted to do a home renovation. As I am in sales and kind of familiar with their tactics we did not fall into their trap and walked away unharmed.
I believe government has a duty to protect the normal citizens from this kind of fraudulent acts and marketing tactics that is mostly based on peoples greed and unfamiliarity to the real deals.
Although CBC has done a great job , I believe they should have done it before Direct Buy could make so much money which is made from peoples misery.
Can you imagine how much money Direct buy has made so far that can afford just the number of TV adds they have in 24 hours?

Thanks to Marketplace for saving many people time and money. For the people that defend Direct Buy and say that it's ok for Direct Buy to not allow price shopping, I'm sure they would be singing a different tune if a car dealer told them that comparsion shopping is not allowed, or that you're not allowed to bring in friends or family members to help you decide what to buy.
So basically you pay $5000 for the privelege of shopping at a store with little or no customer support, no money back guaranteee, no price matching guarantee, no store warranty support, no access to family or friends into the store, and not even having products on display to touch and feel, but with hopes that you will save big if you spend tens of thousands of dollars on products from a catalogue. Bad deal in my opinion.

I too am a DirectBuy member, when my husband and I joined in 2003 at the time I was working and co-owning a store my profession is a interior designer. When we did the speel as everyone says, I was able to check out the manufactures and yes they were buying at the same cost or even cheaper in some cases then I could get as a small retailer. So right there I knew we were joining. We didn't even buy anything for the first 9 months as we had a new house and completely furnished. Now I have moved and built a house and bought everything there right down to drywall. I save 80,000.00 dollars that is what I have to say and just to note not everything has shipping and handling and your right it is not for everyone. But if you like to save money then you should do it. I work hard for my money I again I know the mark up on retail. I am not one of the people from the infomercial either!

We have been members of DirectBuy for 11 years. In that length of time we feel the savings of between 20 and 60% on the many purchases we have made certainly justifies the membership cost. Customer service at our club is outstanding. In one instance where a custom blind was delivered slightly the wrong width, our DirectBuy owner accompanied the sales rep to our home to rectify the dispute, which was resolved by the manufacturer covering half the replacement cost and DirectBuy the other half! All this was accomplished in an atmosphere of congenial problem solving. In another instance, while still under warranty, a large wooden blind split. DirectBuy contacted the manufacturer on our behalf and took care of returning this large blind to the manufacturer for repair at no cost to us. We feel that your report was extemely negative and unfair. Would we join again? You bet!

I was also fooled like other people and paid about 2500 seven years ago perhaps. But haven't bought a single thing yet. People DO NOT got to the open house. You would find beter deals at stores and you can see things, check them out before spending money on them. But at direct buy its all pictures.

At that time the person who gives you a call got $25 and the sales person would get $225 if you become a member. On top of that they had expensive prizes for the best sales people. So Where does this money come from. It's all the membership fee. SO PLEASE BEAWARE!!!!

There are some good points about DirectBuy but Members need to carefully check their final Corporate orders online to make sure they get their proper refunds. Some "wash" amounts on the refunds are set at $200.00..meaning that if freight is overcharged by 199.00 then they will not get their refund on that amount. Also, not every salesman tells the truth about the suppliers, they will fabricate conditions in order to sell the membership. As a former employee/member, I am not sure if I want to keep my membership, many suppliers have now gone under so the savings are mainly with the "high end" goods and BUYER BEWARE. DirectBuy is a good concept but Members have to check everything, as most staff are not as well trained as they seem.

Shame on you CBC. For the past 3 years I have been watching CBC advertise DirectBuy 3, 4 times within an hour throughout the day. Obviously CBC has no qualms about taking the expensive advertising dollar, which by the way would also contribute to paying Erica's salary, and stabbing one of their own accounts in the back by airing a one sided report.

Reading the aforesaid comments I can easily see that DirectBuy is great for some and not great for others. Fair enough. But what you (CBC) did to one of your own accounts, is just wrong. Before pointing your finger at anyone, maybe you should be taking a hard look at yourself in the mirror.

My husband and I have been members of Direct Buy for 10 years. We renew yearly because we want to. We have saved a lot of money buying this way. Some people, like that woman want everything for nothing. Direct Buy is not for people who want what they want, right now! You have to take the time to look through catalogues but in return, you save money. As far as shipping costs go, they are estimated and many times customers are refunded if the shipping was less. The comment by the reporter that the happy customers were chosen by Direct Buy owners was ridiculous! I didn't hear the reporter say the unhappy customers were chosen by Marketplace! The difference between your type of shoddy reporting and great reporters is that great reporters would have voluntarily looked for happy customers too in order to show both sides. I am an unhappy customer of Marketplace but I know you don't care!

I was disappointed at how one-sided the Marketplace story was. My husband and I have been Direct Buy members for 10 years and have saved many thousands of dollars purchasing things like furniture, a furnace, a central air conditioner, and appliances. I was skeptical at first because it seemed too good to be true, but after we made our first couple of purchases we really saw the value.

The savings vary based on how much retail mark-up there is on each product, but we have always saved money, even when factoring in the shipping and handling costs.

While we were not impressed with the buy now or never approach, even though they gave a seemingly reasonable explanation, we have not regretted our decision. Also, the staff at our location are very helpful.

This method of purchasing is not for everyone, though, particularly if you are not planning on making major purchases.

If you value your hard earned income you would be wiser not to donate it to Direct Buy. Once a member, they simply do not care if you benefit from it or not. We joined last year at a cost of $4300 and have yet to find any benefits....and to top it off, their website is of little use (unless you are familiar with brands/retail prices of products). Direct Buy is a high pressure scam, and it sickens me to think that the general public are being duped.

I don't get it. I understand that for the members that do join, 90% renew their memberships. Do people actually volunteer themselves knowing for a rip off? I don't think so.
Just another story to get viewers. Good news is hard to sell. People find bad news much more interesting. That’s why you’ll see more people going to a theatre and watching a Dan Brown movie than in church pews. Booooorrrrrrring.

Why didn’t they ask the opinions of the 90% renewals? Oh ya, because then they would have a commercial on their hands. Marketplace does not do that.

I am a happy member of 7 years. I have yet to make major purchases - no furniture, no renos. I have saved my membership many times over. There is such a wide variety of products available. I have saved big on such things as car tires, mattress set and area rugs. I have purchased jewellery that I love but never would have bought at retail. I have saved smaller but significant amounts on things like small kitchen appliances and gadgets, paint, watches, BBQ, stereo speakers and receiver(also higher quality than I would have purchased retail ), bed linens,luggage,and more. If you want cheap stuff, this is not the place. If it is great value you are looking for, you have found the place. I urge those people who think they have been saved from attending an open house - please don't sit in your arm chair and let a few bitter people tell you how to think. It could cost you big time!

It did seem pretty negative, but it I believe this show is intended to INFORM us, as a "Market" Group, all sides to a story? I work for a Vendor of Direct Buy....it would be interesting to see what they charge for our products, and who is making the money here! (LOL...Honestly though, if you are a person who can afford to do that in the first place, then good for you! The rest of us I believe shall still "slum" at places like ReStore, were there is a benefit to all for a purchase! and no contract ;-)

Hi my name is brad and this is my take on Direct Buy.my wife and I seen the TV add and though this would be great way to save some money, on helping to build our lodge.once we singed the membership it was like nobody had any time to help you.they would actually try and avoid you. when you did get there attention ,they had no time to help you at all. we where lost in there maze of books ,with no help at all from staff.we tried to place an order but got no help.so we asked for our money back but you know the rest of that story.we tell every body to stay away from DirectBuy it"s a scam.

Hi:

we were rudely invited to an open presentation night last January and we were asked to pay a $12,000/15,000 membership + GST. We do NOT recall being proposed a $5000 membership which would be reasonable.

Mo

This whole thing is just an absurd joke and I cannot believe nobody is doing anything to protect consumers.
Direct Buy should be categorized as a full-on Scam and considered illegal in Canada unless the fine prints of the contract are changed or, unless, their horrible sales tactics are stopped.

Jonathan, Edmonton, Alberta

We purchased our membership 3 years ago, in the Stoney Creek office, we have had nothing but GREAT things to say about the people as well as the membership.
We recently put in new kitchen, had 3 estimates with the exact same cabinet supplier....with our appliances we saved 34,000.....let's talk about the furniture now, huge savings, our membership has paid itself now multiple times. The next time you do such a documentary show both sides of the membership ...if you purchase and don't use this is not for you, if you update your home over time it would be impossible not to recoup your intial investment....Direct Buy is a wonderful company, and the staff has been even greater.

There are numerous savings on many products, The episode aired on March 27 is only telling you about the negative. i will tell you that the positive savings out weight the negative, which CBC did not air. Wonder why? maybe because there is more good to becoming a member than bad and if CBC aired a show on the positive then that would be free air time advertising for Direct Buy. Happy customer

I can tell you that were not into high pressure sales, so when we watched the commercials on T.V. and about all the savings, we wanted to check it out. I was the one that made the appointment to view Direct Buy. We were putting on an extensive addition to our home a few years ago. We shopped around for all the best priced including four different manufactures that make kitchen cabinets, to compare prices, as well as home depot. We knew before going there that we'd be paying a membership fee and signing up was not cheep for the average home owner, but if your building a new home or renovation the cost of the fees vs. the potiential savings sold us. We did really save $20,000 on our kitchen and its a beautiful solid wood, quality built kitchen. We saved on widows $5,000. Saved on appliances, fixtures for our home, next we intend on buying bedroom furniture for our children.

What did the CBC do with all the food props after the
food segment on Friday's show? ( broken eggs,sliced bread)

Line us up on the ripped off side of the ledger. I am still angry we were duped into the membership 6-7 years ago. We were redoing our kitchen at that time and were told we would save 15,000 on cabinets alone. There were 3 cabinet companies to choose from at that time and no savings. We purchased a refrigerator, stove, lamp and bed over our 4 year membership saving maybe 1000.00. The catalogues are confusing time consuming the web site cluttered and the staff at our center very unhelpful. We only bought these items at Direct Buy to use this ridiculous membership.

We too bought into the Direct Buy membership.I was ready to walk out of the place because I hate the "buy now or the deal is over" pressure tactic. My husband wasn't feeling the same way. Then they brought us into a private room when feeling my negative vibe. They offered us a free cruise as a signing bonus. Well that put things in a different perspective. I was thinking, well maybe. Big mistake. We bought in, but never received the cruise. They had so many people signing up that week that they were all out of the gift certificates. They were going to mail us the certificate once our membership was finalized. I called and called the Ottawa office, threatened to cut off the payments, but still no response. I missed a payment and they sent the credit bureau after me, so I had no choice but to pay. I priced many items, but always found it cheaper somewhere else!

Hello I watched your expose last night and couldn't help wondering why you play direct buys commercial at least twenty times a day when it's obviously a scheme. I guess they wont be renewing their ad spot with you.

For those of you who say " I missed the show and when can I see it again " click on the show link on this page and you can watch it online...LOL... get with the program

Keep in mind that because each direct buy "store" doesn't mark up the products you order from them, they make ALL their profit on memberships....of course they're going to pressure you It's encumbent on prospective members to do their homework to see if their savings will justify the cost of membership. We joined 3 years ago when we knew we'd have a lot of upcoming large purchases. Our first purchase of shutters for our house covered the cost of membership...everything else has been gravy. Regarding the issue of joining or getting out. If people were to use direct buy's pricing information to try to negotiate better deals with regular retailers, the manufacturers will hear about it and cut direct buy off, thus limiting the number of choices for members. So that rule is partially to protect those who have already joined. Once you "get it", you understand better.

Your reporting on this is irresponsible and one sided. We bought a new house 2 years ago and joined Dirct Buy and have experienced savings well in excess of our membership fee. When we joined we did feel the pressure to sign up that day, however we were provided the opportunity to review all the manufacturer binders and speak to any current members who were there shopping. We spent 3 hours there making our decision and can honestly say it has worked out financially for us. The staff are knowledgeable and helpful, any problems we have had with our products we have returned to the store for them to resolve. Contrary to what you reported many of the manufacturers do not have shipping/handling fees. We understand that if you did not need to make significant purchases this may not be financially worth it, but people must be responsible for the decisions they make.

To Wendy and Erica:

The ad you're busting is being broadcast on CBC all the time. You guys are so brave to expose your own client. Salut!

I can't believe that CBC did not investigate further with the facts. In many instances shipping and/or handling charges are not applicable. We did not use our membership for the first year or so with the understanding we would be making purchases throughout or lives. There are significant savings on most things, however, one must know after seeing the catalogues with marginal savings clearly indicated on the cover that there could be marginal savings or no savings on SOME products. I would like to know if these individuals who feel it is high pressure, are they putting the pressure on themselves? Talk to us members and not the individuals who have not joined or have not taken the time to learn how to pruchase theproducts through the club. You will get both the pros and cons and not the one sided broadcast you witnessed.

Hey CBC. I'm guessing the ratings on Leafs games must be down this year. Maybe you should have ran your drivel on a Satudray instead. As an extremely happy DirectBuy member since 2004, I can honestly tell you that your biased, cowardess "investigating" exhibits absolutely no intelligence. First off, as someone who has purchased a Weber BBQ and a sink, I can make it pretty clear to you that the freight charge on Weber is far below 15% and there is zero freight on kitchen sinks in Ontario. Maybe next time, someone can do the investigation and give a fair review of both sides of the coin and leave the decision to the viewer, rather than this skewed and twisted show that you call a 'report'. Here's a great idea for you... run the full interview with the Barrie owner unedited on cbc.ca. If the CBC was a member of the Better Business Bureau, I'd file a claim.

Joined and I wish I didn't
So sad

I am absolutely appalled at tonight's segment. Yes, members have to sign the same day they come in for the tour. Yes, that is listed on the information packages that are sent out PRIOR to potential members coming in for the open house.

I feel sorry for uneducated people who do not read what they sign before they sign a legal contract and also agree to pay $5000 for a membership.

I have easily saved over $10,000 on my purchases.

I would recommend Direct Buy to anyone who wants to save money on something other than a toaster.

I invite everyone to the Calgary Direct Buy Club to save money and deal with friendly, helpful staff.

The sales people and support staff were younger and didn't seem to care about the clients only when they were "making the sale to buy the membership".

Where's the great deal when you have to pay $5000.00 after tax to buy something you can't touch and you have to take it back to the manufacturer if something goes wrong with it. It's catalogue shopping and most of the items can be found at the Brick . More expensive items are as expensive as the regular stores when you factor in shipping etc. In my opinion it's very high pressure sales and I'd think very hard about how much you have to buy just to break even on the membership. Much of the products are out of date. If it's too good to be true and you feel like prey, which you will, walk away.

I think the question 'what is your reason for joining' needs to be asked before the fee is collected. I can see why people who are only planning to do a small reno or buy some furniture or appliances would not benefit a lot from Direct Buy. However, in our case, we were building a higher end home, yet did not want to spend top dollar. We joined Direct Buy, and our house is about 3/4 complete. We have done a lot of comparison shopping for windows, cabinetry, light fixtures,flooring and plumbing fixtures. We have saved over $40,000 so far and have also been able to upgrade from mid to higher end product as a result. Yes it does take more time and effort. But for us the savings have been worth it. I'd also like to say that the handling and shipping fees are not nearly as high as Marketplace made them out to be.

Totally dissatisfied with Direct Buy after being a member for 2 years of a 3 year membership. I have expressed my displeasure thru one of their surveys as well as at the beginning of the membership.
To-date I have only purchased paint and could have gotten a better price at Home Depot or Rona.
This is not an investment of any sort and a company such as Direct Buy should not be allowed to operate anywhere following these unscrupolous practices.

I have worked for Direct Buy for almost 2 years and have been a member for over a year, I find your attack on Direct Buy disgusting. It is unfair that you would interview or only show members or potential members that have had bad experiences. What about the members who have actually saved money and have had nothing but great experiences? I am appalled at the way you would assume that the members who did have something good to say were simply putting on an act. Next time you decide to "expose" a so called scam, check your facts get both sides of the story like real journalist.

Thank you for the great show!!

My husband and I were invited to attend an open house at the Direct Buy in Victoria, B.C. We watched the presentation and then werepressured by a sales associate to join. The price we were quoted was $4,000.00 for the first three years. When we asked for time to think it over, we too, were told that it was now or never.

As we were doing a major renovation in our condo, total new kitchen and bath, new flooring, new appliances, we had shopped around for prices and styles. We had a good idea of costs involved and when we mentioned doing some comparison shopping we were advised that as a Direct Buy member this was not ethical nor allowed. That was the big tip off for us. There are many many deals in the market place where we don't have to put out a many thousands of dollars and be restricted as to where we can shop.

Shame on the CBC for allowing such a predisposed report. I thought investigative journalism was supposed to be unbiased; nothing was farther from the truth in your episode tonight. I am an employee of DirectBuy and a Member. I have been working with the company for eight years and have been a member for five. They are a fair and just employer and I would not work for a company with whom I felt was unfair or a rip-off. There are so many things this episode did not take into account I cannot begin to explain.

THANK YOU to all you members who are happy and posting your displeasure with this show. To everyone else, please LEARN THE FACTS before you MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION. The membership is not for everyone.
My wife and I have not done a major renovation, nor built a new home, but we have used the club and have saved thousands on anything from weight scales to dishes to baby furnishings over the years and we couldn’t be happier.

I find it very interesting that you advertise a "so called" unhappy member walking into her local center, after going on air saying that if you value your time, then the membership is not worth it. A little contradictory?

A very bias and unfair portrayal of a good company.

My wife and I signed up several years ago, thanks to the high-pressure sales presentation. We soon regretted that but decided to try to make the best of it. However, we soon discovered that selection was very limited and savings weren't that great. In fact, when I wanted to get a set of mag wheels for my brother's vehicle, I found they were cheaper at a wheels specialty shop than at Direct Buy. Also there was very little selection for digital cameras. We had to go elsewhere. We also found it very inconvenient to have to go their outlet and try to find things in their catalogs. All in all, we feel ripped off, embarassed that we were stupid enough to fall for it, and we regret going to that sales presentation. Our advice: avoid Direct Buy.

Wow, what a show! It was the most one-sided attempt at discrediting an amazing company that I have ever seen. My DirectBuy is fantastic! The staff is very helpful and if they do not know the answers I am looking for...they find them for me. The gentleman who said that they don't care about their members after they get their money certainly does not belong to the London DirectBuy.

Perhaps Marketplace should be more careful in the future when gathering their information. It would seem they gathered just enough to slam a very good concept and company.

Go to DirectBuy, check it out, if you are prepared to amazed by the savings available, then you too, will be writing to CBC in the future.

I'm another Direct Buy dup - My wife and I caved to the high-pressure sales and joined up, wasting a fortune in fees. I've never experienced so much pressure to sign-up for anything and would warn anyone from even going near a DB open house.

We saved a few dollars, but frankly, once you factor in the outrageous fees, the amount of time wasted dealing with the Direct Buy ordering system (searching through catalogs, filling out forms, then waiting weeks for items to arrive), you've lost time, money and end up feeling like you've been scammed.

Remember, any service that was really worthwhile would NOT need to pressure you to sign up, and wouldn't need to try and force people to join before you've had time to consider and review the contract.

I have been a direct buy member for a little less than a year, though it is true that savings can be marginal on "a small # of" low cost items, the mark up is percentage based, so high ticket items have fabulous savings. I saved $1900 dollars on a dual fuel range that retailed, on sale, at a department store for $6300. I also did not pay any shipping or handling on the item as there wasn't any for appliances. The wait period on items are mostly due to the fact that you buy from a manufacturer, it is the same as if I were to order it direct on-line. All and all I have saved over $35,000 dollars on what would have been a $100,000 renovation, and as someone who works in the construction industry, it was quite a surprise to find that I could buy things for less than my company could buy items at wholesalers.

Earlier this year my wife and I were planning to build our own home so decided to go in for one of their open houses to see if we could save some money. We had heard positive and negative things about DirectBuy so we went in prepared for the worst. We were about to start construction on our home so we had already done our budgeting so we came to the meeting with our home budget in tow. I was honestly expecting a confrontation when we brought out our budget and asked on the spot to do some price comparisons. To my surprise the staff was more than helpful and started looking up items on our list to show us what we could save. Some of the items we were going to save nearly 50% and other items we would not save at all. In the end we happily joined and have saved tens of thousands building our home in Edmonton.

I watched the episode on Direct Buy tonight and totally agree with everything that was presented. I too attended one of these presentations. But I walked away when the pressure to "buy now" was pushed on me. Actually I did not walk away, I was shown the door.

What was NOT shown was the slick way Direct Buy ensures that there is no discussion among potential buyers nor spouses.

You are shown slick testamonials, allowed to go through some previously slected materials VERY briefly, taken on a brief tour of the facility and pressured to commit. You are not allowed to ask questions for ALL to hear. Questions you are told will be answered by your "host".
If you look at how much you would have to spend over three years to save $5000.00, at a 10% saving it would be $50,000.00 and at a 20% saving it would be $25,000.00. This shows you how much you have to spend to just break even.

The DirectBuy membership is not for everyone. That being said, we have saved tens of thousands during our major home renovation in the last year. We live four hours away from the centre, and are pleased with our savings, even when fuel costs are factored in for picking up purchases! The staff has been helpful, but you do not get the same service as you might expect in retail - hence the less expensive prices! You must be a confident shopper and know what you are looking for before purchases are made. It does take time to do research before ordering and you are on your own with the manufacturers' catalogues. If you like to have a salesperson convince you what you "need", then stick with retail. The membership is not practical for people making average purchases. However, if making several substantial purchases, the list of positives will outweigh the negative aspects.

We were called and invited to an "open house" at Direct Buy. We missed the date as my husband was called in for
an overtime shift, so they rescheduled the invitation. We went and yes we were pressured into joining they would not allow us to know the "hidden" costs of purchasing goods. We had purchased a new home and thought okay we could furnish this home plus get some upgrades for the house.

We have only purchased a washer and dryer nothing else in 4 years it is cheaper to purchase from the stores.

When you invest that kind of money you need to to buy lots and save but just is not working for us. My furniture is cheaper as you do not need to pay for weight and exchange rates....

DO NOT JOIN my advice!!!!!!

I was contacted by Direct Buy about 5 months ago by mail, stating that they had an automatic gurnteed prize if you showed up for one of the open houses. I called and made the appointment, and had to cancel last minute due to personal reasons. I was then contacted again and asked if I wanted to still attend. at that time, I said yes. The appointement was set for 2 weeks later. During that 2 week period, I received approximatly 3 messages a day confirming my appointment. After the 11th day, I called thm back and told them that they were harrassing me, and that could take me off their call list. The lady I spoke with was very non personable, and said fine we won't bother you again. I did receive 2 more calls before they fully stopped. Once you have the hook in the customer, stop shaking the pole, it's a good way to lose the catch. The Government should take these guys downo

Curious as to why you didn t proceed to ask for the number of memberships sold by city to allow us to look at the bigger picture. But of course not, the bias or negative seems to be the forerunner of this program. Your pre-empt to me writing this suggests only some where happy but alot were unhappy. My suggestion is that if you truly looked at the numbers your some happy customers would be the vast majority . In closing if I had the opportunity to produce a television show mine would be on Marketplace, there inappropriate, one sided investigation, excuse me 15 seconds allowed for the positive and their ineffectiveness to convince me that they ever can be positive or do an accurate investigated report as this to me deems more like The National Enquirer.

I wish you would have touched on the point that when going to the initial interview that you are not allowed to bring a friend or family member. Your only allowed to bring a spouse or alone. (I am sure they feel a non biased party will talk you out of signing up). I heard they do not allow same sex partners either.

thanks for listening.

If DirectBuy is really as bad as you make them look with your one-sided broadcast, how do you explain the fact that they have been in business for nearly forty years? Of course it's not for everyone! If all you're buying is a barbecue, don't join! If you're renovating or building, join! We did and we saved thousands (and we're not featured in an infomercial). Oh....100 total complaints in Ontario? I think they have nearly a dozen stores in this province. How many complaints does Home Depot or Sears get? Probably more than 100...

We just joined in the last three weeks we'll let you know how it goes.

This show is extremely one sided. i dont understand why marketplace doesnt explain the reasons why some rules are in place. However, I guess if you were to, you wouldn't have had a show to air, and it would be bad for your ratings. Anyways by reviewing already some of the comments on your website, I see that they are mostly positive.

Showroom representatives mentioned to me that this show was going to air this evening, at the same time explaing how DirectBuy's merchandise sales has increased sigificantly over the past year meaning members are satisfied with their membership and renewals on memberships have increased.

Why doesnt marketplace do an episode on themselves. Expose all the negative information about their show on how they only expose the negative side of every company and never fully disclose all of the company's benefits, rules and policies.

We too were victims of this "scam" that Direct Buy has going. We became members approximately 5 years ago at the London Direct Buy as we were having a new home built and thought it would be great to get some huge savings.

Over the course of the first year we came to find out that there were NO deals to be had and on 3 occasions we ordered items that were apparently "out of stock"?
On one visit, I had my 70 year old mother with me to help me choose some flooring that I intended on ordering, only to find out that unless she joined she was "not allowed" inside the showroom. I never returned.

This was only one of many bad experiences we encountered there.

I would not recommend this establishment to anyone and am quite embarrassed that we were so stupid.

WOW..what a shame. Maybe market place should have done their full research before doing this episode. I work at direct buy and see the savings everyday as I work in service, which takes care of the ordering and helping with any questions!I do see the sales team speaking with potential members, and i have NEVER heard any of the employees speak to anyone like the lady has in the video. Funny how they only showed one sales employee. It's sad they make it so one sided. At the beginning of this episode they also mentioned "you do not return merchandise to direct buy, you have to do it through the manufacture" which is totally false. We do all the work for you. And yes, the membership is NOT for everyone but anyone who owns a house and plans on doing any upgrades, or replacement, it's something to consider. The savings may not always be $1000s per item but there are tones of savings all around

Wow! Can you say bias report? I can really see that you need the ratings. The upset members shown where not very educated on how things work. Its not for everyone but if you are making purchases then it definitly would be. I've been a member for a few years and am very happy with it. Thanks marketplace for wasting my time. Great editing...

A few years ago, I had an appointment at a Direct Buy. They hooked me up with some rep. right away. I mentioned to him that I wasn't willing to commit that night. He took me aside and said that I would be asked to commit $4000 on that night, and if I didn't, I would never be invited again. I chose to leave at that time, and he escorted me out a back door. I wondered if I had made the right move. After seeing your show, I'm glad that I left. Funny thing - I had always thought that the $4000 he was referring to was a credit on purchase. He hadn't mentioned a membership fee yet. Another informative Marketplace.

My husband and i recently went to direct buy and when we said no we ere not interested the lady got really rude with us.I was not impressed at all and was not going to spend 5000 for the sign up fee then for the next 3 years they wanted 200 a year then after that it was 600 dollars a year.That is a big scam.

Two years ago my wife and I too fell for the hype of joining Direct Buy. The day after we signed the contract, we started to regret the decision and that is when I did some research. I found out about the "10 day cooling off period" law for purchases. This allows you to cancel a contract within the 10 days after signing and you do not have to give the company any reason for canceling the contract. I sent a registered letter to the manager of our local Direct Buy stating I wanted to cancel the membership and referred to this cooling off period. We received a call from the manager, who wanting to confirm that we wanted to cancel and informed us that if we did, we would never be able to join again. We received a refund for our membership within a week. We were expecting a fight, but it was very simple for us to get out of the contract.

I find that the episode on Direct Buy was not objective or completely honest. As a Direct Buy member myself I read the package sent to my home before going into their club. It stated that I did need to be able to make a decision when I went their that night . They made me read the complete contract before I signed . I find that as a show you should really know the facts before making an episode. Yes their is a high price to join but in the long run myself and my husband are completely satified. And so you are aware no club has asked myself to do this. I watch your show all the time and now I am starting to wondering if what you say and record is true now. I can tell you that a lot of what you only showed was incorrect. PLease if you are going to air shows make sure you are objective and not one sided. Thank you,

AFTER WATCHING YOUR SHOW IT WOULD SEEM THAT MOST OF THE UNHAPPY CONSUMERS WERE LOOKING FOR GREAT DEALS ON LOW TICKET ITEMS. WE ARE IN A HIGH PRESSUR SALE SOCIETY WHERE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS PREMIUM.HAVING NEVER BEEN TO DIRECT BUY MY PERCEPTION IS THAT YOU WOULD ONLY SAVE BIG ON BIG PRICED ITEMS.WALK ONTO A CAR LOT OR INTO A BOX STORE AND SHOW ME THE DIFFERENCE IN HIGH PRESSURE SALES WHEN THE REP IS WORKING ON COMMISSION.THERE IS INFO AVAILABLE IF PEOPLE WOULD TAKE TIME TO READ.I DID AND DECIDED DIRECTBUY WAS NOT FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR LOW TICKET PRODUCTS AND COULD NOT JUSYIFY THE SIGNUP FEE.
AS USUAL PEOPLE WOULD RATHER COMPLAIN THAN ADMIT THEIR STUPIDITY. WHICH ONE IS EASIER.
WHAT PERCENT OF THE MEMBERSHIP ARE UNHAPPY.
OF THIS PERCENTAGE WHAT PERCENT DID NOT DO THEIR RESEARCH BEFORE WRITING A CHEQUE.I AGREE BIAS SHOW

The bottom line is that you need to recuperate your membership BEFORE you are even saving anything! What's the point of saving 600 bucks here, 800 bucks there and so on, when you are still out by $3600?

My wife and I became members in Ottawa in 2000, and I consider myself lucky that we were able to recuperate our membership - which was "only" $2500 at the time. I would estimate that we spent about 12K to break even. Customer service was very poor. You better hope that you never have an issue with anything you buy there. You are not permitted to to contact any of the vendors directly to resolve any problems. You must go thought DB, and they are not prepared to ruffle any feathers with their suppliers!

If you are prepared to spend a lot of money and don't mind choosing from selected manufacturers that DB carries, then go for it. If not, then avoid this place like the plague!!

Sounds like the "happy customers" are few and far between. My husband and I attended an open house and have never felt so strongly that we made the right decision in our lives than when we left without signing. I'm glad some are getting their money's worth, but for every one there are likely 10 who have lost out financially and have credit problems because of these "snake oil salesman" pitches. It's hard to believe in this day and age a company can get away with this. Where is our government?? Why are they not protecting consumers?

Great show! I'm so glad I never joined. I had a friend that did, and even after renovating a house and buying a lot of cabinets and fixtures, he may have just broken even.
For those who missed the show, you can watch it on this web site via streaming video. Remember - as someone says in the show "if something sounds too good to be true..."

As for needing a three day cooling off period, I thought there was already one in place. I recall a few years ago when energy retailers were going door to door pedaling their contracts, there was a way to cancel the agreement within a certain period.

Boy, you can make anyone look bad. I have been a member for over 4 years. Did not buy anything for the first year and thought "why did I do this" but then.... Wow, I have saved my membership over and over. I would say I am $8000 ahead after the membership cost. I paid about $4000 4 years ago. I get great service, always friendly and very knowledgeable. Dont know what location that was filmed at, but you always do a great job of finding the negatives and not the positives.
My two cents worth...its a great deal for most, not everyone, but I have recommended it to 6 or 7 friends who all joined and have the same positive things to say about Direct Buy.

My husband and I have been members for the past 2 1/2 years. After numerous phone calls inviting us to their "invitation only openhouse" We decided to check them out. Also because of the fact that we had just purchased an older home, which needed extensive renovating. However, we were very skeptical and decided that no matter what, we would not sign on a dotted line that evening. The information was very convincing and indeed with all of the work we had planned,it could be quite a savings for us..So, what was the catch? A decision had to be made.. Yes, it was a very pressured sale..sign up or get out is basically what was said.Since we have experienced many negative situations..to many that I can't go into with a limited amount of characters..However, I would never recommend Direct Buy to anyone, because of our negative experience and because our time is just to valuable to us....

This membership is not for everyone!!!! I blame this show for exposing unhappy, uneducated members. I don't feel bad for people who sign a cheque and a legal document committing to this membership.

I blame marketplace for televising members who don't even know what their talking about, like your Barbeque example.

If this person knew the club better you would know that there is no freight and handling on such items! and come on, the gentlemen who said you can find better deals on the internet!!! your kidding me right!

I said it before and I'll say it again this membership is not for everyone!!

And for the record I've saved tens of thousands by being a Direct Buy Member and I am not one of the people on the informercial!

Hi Erica:

A few years ago my wife and I visited what was then UCC Total Home the predecessor to Direct Buy. I believe it was United Consumer Cooperative prior to UCC Total Home. We visited the London Ontario showroom after filling out an invitation form at their booth at the London Spring Home and Garden show. We experienced everything your investigative report mentioned and thanks to our gut instinct, we did not sign up for membership. Interestingly we decided to test their policy of not inviting people back once they have visited the showroom and witnessed their sales pitch. The following year we once again filled out an invite form at the Home and Garden show and low and behold, we received a second invite to hear their sales pitch. So much for their policy of not inviting people back a second time.

I would just like to say that I am 23 yrs old & have been a member for almost 3 yrs I'm single & still live at home with my parents & have found profound use for the club! I am a very HAPPY member and I am disappointed that Marketplace would spin everything to the negative! The main complaint on tonights episode was that it was high pressure sales and they had to make a decision on the spot, but I would hope that any viewer would understand that DirectBuy cannot allow you to go into retail stores and tell them that you can buy anything for cheaper at DirectBuy just to negotiate a better price, after you have attended an open house! The retailer cannot give you a better price because at DirectBuy you buy the same way the retailers do, before they mark it up to make a profit! That would put reatilers out of business and thats not what DirectBuy wants to do!

By the time we pay shipping to the depot and then have it delivered, we dont save that much -- Then there is a big problem with service, almost impossible to get any service We are right in the middle of a problem and not getting much help from Direct Buy.

Very difficult to find what one is looking for, they dont help much in saying where to find what we want.

Then dont forget the yearly FEE to keep membership active.!!
Have been a member for a number of years and ownership has changed 3 times.

I am a DirectBuy member and have saved thousands on the product my wife and I have purchased. Not only have we been able to purchase a higher end product by we also have the inside scoop as to how much markup some retail stores are actually getting. An example of this is 3-4 years ago the electronic stores were making $2000.00 on a 52" tv. I feel that DirectBuy has protected me from this retail rip off.

Darn, Darn! I missed the program. When are you going to rerun it? Pleeeese!

My husband and I joined the London, Ontario Direct Buy 3 1/2 years ago when we were going to build a house and we saved a great deal after covering the membership cost.

We knew when we went for the sales pitch that the membership fee was steep. We went with some retail prices on various items. After the sales pitch we were shown the manufacturer catalogues and how to read them. We checked the catalogues to compare our retail prices. We found savings. We were told that some items had 8% handling and some had freight - the catalogue front pages indicate any of this.

I have a document that I prepared for anyone that asks me about joining. I tell people that it is costly but there are savings for those who are building, renovating or will need to make a lot of new purchases. I tell people that it requires a lot of time to check catalogues and go and do some retail comparisons.

This show was so pathetic! all you tried to do was scare people from not joining a great club. The savings are clearly there. you even showed afew. and as for the extra costs, you should have gone and asked the retail stores if they pays those too. They do!

AS for the same decision policy,if that was not in place they wouldnt be able to do business with the manufacturers. and yes this was explained to us when we went into the open house.

by the way ive had my membership for 4 years now and ive saved a lot of money!!!!!!

Thank-you for your show about direct-buy. My wife and I joined 2 years ago and after the fact I wish I could have seen into the future. My biggest problem was when we neededa dishwasher and went to direct-buy and they told us to go where my wife worked to get it cheaper. There seems to be a problem with that.I will let my contract run out and I will never enter there door again. Thanks again for a great show,keep up the good work.

I have watched your episode on Direct Buy and found it to be totally one sided, I have been a direct buy member since 2003, at the time the membership price was $2500, I must say not all buys are good, one thing that you do not mention is that there is all kind of compagnies that do not charge anything for shipping( Samsung as an example )I myself puchased window for my house through direct buy and got a 60% discount bon MSRP, I did get quotes else where and the best price I could get was $5000 more. If you remodel a house , you will save huge, for day to day purchases not so much. Kitchen cabinet at 60% off of MSRP, Lcd tv $700 less than the best boxing day price ETC. I paid my membership more than once with the saving. One thing you could have done is interview some happy customers but, I guess, that would not have been as good for the ratings. Bias in my opinion.

Hi, I was stupid enough to join Directbuy 2 years ago and like so many others can't get out of the contract. Fortunately for me after telling them I could'nt afford it, they decided to finance the deal. Now I have a collection company harassing me and threatening to carry me to court.

The question is...is this type of contract legal and what can be done to get out of it ?

Sorry to have missed this show on Direct Buy. Could you please advise if it is going to be repeated and when?

My husband and I purchased a DirectBuy Membership almost 3 years ago. As a newly maried couple and new home owners, we knew we would need to make large purchases in the near future and over the coming years. Before attending the presentation we spoke with people who already had a membership so we knew the initial fee was large. Secondly, we priced out some of the items we would be purchasing ahead of time so that we could compare and see what, if any, the savings would be.

The savings on our first purchase covered the cost of the membership, and we have been saving ever since.

Of course there are some items that aren't worth purchasing as the savings are minimal, but that is identified in the showroom on each of the suppliers books. If you plan on buying pots and a small BBQ, then DirectBuy is not for you.

DirectBuy can do the right thing and get rid of their $5000 membership fee and get rid of their contracts and offer their savings directly to Canadians without all the hype.

Where were you a year ago when we were pressured into buying a membership? I told my husband I feel like we paid $5000.00 for four cups of coffee.

After a year we have yet to find a good deal. We have passed up deals because we feel obligated to buy at Direct Buy. I would do anything to get out of it.

There should be a clause for that since they hook you by making you believe that everything will cost a pittance of what you would normally pay.

I am still so angry. I am going to keep reading comments and if anything can be done, I will join in.

Talk about timing - I have (had - I cancelled during this program) an appointment tomorrow to attend an open house at Direct Buy - At no time was I given the understanding that I would have to pay a $5,000 membership fee in order to join. Thank you for saving my time and my money.

WELL DONE - IT IS ABOUT TIME SOMEONE PUT THESE SCAMMERS IN THEIR PLACE! I WAS HOODWINKED INTO BELIEVING I WOULD SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS - NOT SO. PRESSURE IS INCREDIBLE AND THE WAY THEY TREAT THOSE WHO DON'T SIGN IS APPALLING!

I feel sorry for having cowered down to the high sales pressure tactics of Direct Buy sales rep. i too like other fool hardy Canadians purchased a Direct Buy membership and have been duped by them. to date I have transacted three sales through Direct Buy for a grand savings of $10.00

Buyers beware there are no realistic savings to be had. keep your money in your wallet and stay away from Direct Buy.

inUnfortunately the reporting of the CBC is strickly using the information of a very uninformed disgruntled former member. Also the direct buy personnel was not very good at their job in the show. The reasons for not allowing a cooling off period is to protect the retail establishment. It has been learnt that if people have a better price they will use it to argue the retailers down and that is not fair to them or the manufacturers who sell most of their product in the retail channel.

I was not offered a 3 day cooling period but i understood why. I was given a seminar about the potential savings. So far they have been realized and i'm ecurrently a happy member. Yes retail offers more serivces like returning goods the actual store but i'd rather sav big time upfront. Also every order is delivered to direct buy and inspected and sent back if broken before you even get it.

My Husband and I had a horrible experience with Direct Buy. We had recently bought a new house and were gut it to re-do the entire house, new plumbing, wiring, installation, completely new kitchen and bathroom plus a whole lot more.

We bought a membership to save money. It was a disaster. It took forever to figure out how to order, what products, what price, delivery, pick up etc. Most of the stuff we bought was only marginally cheaper than buying at Home Depot or elsewhere. At times, we found the product was actually the same price if not cheaper (and that's without factoring in the shipping cost, wait time, etc).

After they screwed up repeatedly with our kitchen, stove and dishwasher, I demanded our membership fee back. I would not relent until they agreed, I e-mailed, called and went in the office to speak to the manager. I did get my money back and I continue to tell my friends

Good evening

I am watching your episode on Direct Buy. I believe that you are looking at the whole concept in the wrong light. A few years ago, we, too, went to Direct Buy. What you are saying is quite true and I'm sure that people do fall into the trap as you have stated. However, when we went to the local Direct Buy presentation, we were planning a substantial kitchen renovation. A quote that we received from Home Depot for our cabinets was $29,800 while with Direct Buy for better quality cabinets the cost was #12,500. I believe that type of savings more than compensated by our membership fee.

Basically, if you are about to embark on a large renovation, Direct Buy is a wonderful deal. If you are hoping to save on the purchase of furniture and appliances, you are quite right in your reporting. It probably isn't worth it!

Thanks for your report.